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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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Chap.„r:... Copyright No.. 
Shelf....'.L 5 5 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




ZM^Southern Farmers' 

Gardeners* and 
Fruit Raisers Guide 



What, How and When to Plant 
in the South for Profit. 

^p^ ^^^ ^^^ 

Written zxA Ojmpiled by 
E. M. PHILLIPS, 

Author of '^Documents in the Case/' "What Does the Man Want>" Etc. 



The Southern Agricultural Publishing Co. 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 



JULl'?'lH&e 



\V)^0l-'^^^ 



^ INDEX. ^ 



Page. 

Alfalfa 1 7 

Almonds 272 

Apples 202 

Autumn and Winter Keeping 215 

Borer 218 

Budding 212 

Cleft Grafting 214 

Codling Moth 218 

Cultivation of Orchards 205 and 216 

Diseases 222 

Distance Apart of Trees 206 

Early Varieties 215 

Enemies of _ 217 

Growing Grafting Stocks 208 

Leaf Blight 222 

Leaf Grumpier 220 

Propagation 207 

Protection from Sun Scald 205 

Pruning 226 

Root Grafting 209 

Scab and Bitter Rot 223 

Setting Out Orchards 204 

Woolly Aphis 217 

Apricots 266 

Artichokes, Jerusalem 42 

Asparagus 135 

Balky Horses 343 

Barley 57 

Basket Willows 298 

Beans, Bush 166 

Beans, Pole 170 

Beef, to Salt 398 

Beets 174 

Berries 251 

Blackberries 257 

Cranberries 262 

Currants 258 

Gooseberries 258 

Mulberries 260 

Raspberries 255 

Strawberries 251 

Black Walnut Groves 270 

Broom Corn 276 

Buckwheat 64 

Budding Fruit Trees 212 

Butter, How to Keep Hard 361 

<• Making at the South 356 

Cabbages, Two Crops per Annum no 

Cabbage Worms "2 

Cantaloupes (or Muskmelons) 200 



Page. 

Carbolic Acid Wash 406 

Carrots 173 

Cattle at the South 330 

Cauliflower and Broccoli 177 

Cauliflower and Lettuce 179 

Celery 140 

Cementing Cellar Floors 328 

Cement for China, etc 391 

<' " Fruit Jars 393 

" •' Furniture, etc 392 

'< '« Leather, etc 391 

Cereals 43 

Chapped Hands, Cure of 375 

" " Ointment for 376 

Chestnuts, American 272 

'' Japan 273 

" Spanish 273 

Cherries 242 

Chill and Fever Remedies 371 

Clover, Alsike 28 

" and Bermuda Grass 7 

«' Alfalfa 17 

" Crimson 30 and 409 

" Japan 32 

" Red 26 

Cold Frames 3^2 

Colorado Potato Beetle 102 and 410 

Colts, How to Break them 342 

Colt Distemper 334 

Colic, Cramp of Horses 335 

'< Flatulent 33^ 

Corn, Field 5' 

" Sweet or «'Sugar" 171 

'' Seed, Selection and Care of 53 

" Jerusalem 69 

" Kaffir 69 

'« Millo Maize 69 

" Level Culture of 54 

Cotton Seed and Meal Fatal to Pigs 353 

Cowpeas ^° 

Cowpea Hay • 20 

Cowpeas and Crabgrass as a Combined 

Hay Crop 24 and 409 

Cowpea Hay Stacking 21 and 22 

Cowpeas as a Manure 45 

Cucumbers 1 53 

Currants, Red and Black 258 

Diseases of Horses and Mules 332 

Dyeing, Hints on 3^2 

" Black 383' 387 and 390 



Copyright iBqb. by E. M. PHILLIPS, Little Reck. A rk. 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Dyeing, Blue 385, 388 and 390 

" Cotton Goods, Blue with Log- 
wood 388 

«' Cotton, Cheap Blue 388 

*' " Black 387 

<' *' Bright Orange 389 

«' '• Green 389 

" " Light Blue 388 

" •' Red 390 

** " Yellow 389 

•< Green 384 and 385 

«' Lac Red 386 

♦« Madder Red 384 

" Orange 386 

'' Pink 385 

" Purple .386 

" Silver Drab 387 

" Scarlet with Cochineal 385 

" Snuff Brown 384 

«« Wine Color 384 

Eggs, to Tell the Sex of 364 

" to Keep them Fresh 364 

Egg Plant 189 

Epizootic, or Influenza 333 

Fat Cattle at the South 330 

Fertilizers, Commercial 75 

'♦ " Mixing of 77 

Fruits 202 

Farmers' Shipping Clubs 320 

Figs 261 

Filberts and Hazel Nuts 275 

Flax 296 

Founder 340 

Geese, Emden and Common 365 

Gestation 356 

Glanders 334 

Gooseberries 258 

Grafting, Root 209 

" Cleft 214 

Grafting Wax 403 

Grapes 245 

" Modes of Culture 246 

** Diseases 249 

" Location and Soil 249 

'* the Scuppernong 250 

" Varieties for the South 245 

Grasses 5 

Grass, Bermuda 6 

" " to Destroy 8 

" •* and Red Clover Com- 
bined 7 

" Johnson 14 

«• Blue .«. 35 

" Red Top 33 

" Orchard 37 

" Texas Blue 37 



Page. 
Grass, Timothy 16 

" Virginia Blue 37 

Grasses and other Forage Crops for the 

South 5 

" How to Secure a Good Catch 

on Light Soils 39 

Hams, to Cure , 398 

Ham in Slices to Keep a Long Time. ..399 

Health at the South 368 

Heaves 338 

Herds Grass, see Red Top 33 

Horse Ointment _ 341 

Hotbeds 310 

How to Give Medicine to Animals 332 

Insecticides 405 

Kerosene Emulsion 405 

Tobacco Spraying Mixture 406 

Carbolic Acid Wash 406 

White Hellebore 406 

Acetate of Lead 407 

Introduction I 

Kaffir Corn 69 

Kohl Rabi 188 

Land Plaster 75 

Lettuce 179 and 186 

Lime and its Uses 74 

" on Grain Lands 318 

" on Grass Lands 39 

Liniment 341 

Live Stock 330 

Lice on Farm Stock 348 

Lockjaw _. 340 

Manures and Fertilizers 72 and 312 

Marls as Fertilizers 315 

May-Apple, Extract of 373 

Melon, Musk 200 

" Water 193 

Millet 25 

Millo Maize 69 

Mulberries ..260 

Mushrooms 182 

Mustard 201 

Notes and Comments 409 

Number of plants per acre, at a given 

distance - 408 

Nut Bearing Trees 267 

Oats 60 

" as a Combined Crop 61 

Okra 185 

Onions 126 

" to Keep Through the Winter 129 

Osage Orange Hedges 293 

Paint, Cheap, Without Lead 408 

Parsnips l8l 

Peaches 227 

'* Disease and Enemies 231 



IITDEX. 



Page. 

Peaches, Packing and Shipping 233 

'* Lists for the South 229 

Peas, Early Green 163 

Peanuts 184 

Pecans 267 

Peppers 186 

Pears 237 

•' Mode of Ripening 241 

" Varieties for the South 241 

Pigs; Young, Care of 350 

Plants; Number of at a Given Distance 

per Acre 408 

Plums 234 

" Enemies of 235 

Plenty of Drinking Water for Hogs 353 

Plowing, Deep or Shallow 49 

Plow, Scooter with Heel Scrape 11 

Potatoes, Irish 84 

" Deep Planting of 90 and 409 

" Insect Pests 102 

Potatoes, Diseases of 97 

" Late, for Table Use 89 

" Remarkable Growing 92 

" Rural New Yorker's Method.. 89 

" Second Crop ; 86 

" Sweet 105 

Potato Beetle 102 and 410 

Poke Root for Felons, etc 373 

" Berries for Rheumatism 375 

Poultry, Feeding for Eggs 361 

Pumpkins 197 

Quinces 244 

Rabbits, to Trap Them 376 

•• to Keep Them from Trees 379 

Radishes 1 77 

Ramie 3^5 

Raspberries 255 

Rats, to Kill them 380 

Red Top Grass 33 

Rice, Upland 55 

Rhubarb, or Pie Plant. 264 

Root or Fruit Cellars 326 

Salsify (Vegetable Oyster) 187 

Salting Cattle 349 

Seed and Seed Sowing 78 

Seeds, Duration of Vitality of 81 

" Time for Sowing 82 

Snake Bites, Cure for 374 

Soap, Hard and Good 402 

" " White -.402 

«' Soft 400 and 402 

Sorghum Fodder 34 



Page. 

Sorghum Molasses or Sugar 288 

" Non-Saccharine 69. 

Spaulding's Prepared Glue, Imitation .. 392 

Spavin and Ringbone 339 

Spinach 201 

Spraying Recipes 404 

Copper Sulphate Solution 404 

Bordeaux Mixture 404 

Ammoniacal Solution 405 

Kerosene Emulsion 405 

Tobacco Spraying Mixture 406 

White Hellebore 406 

Acetate of Lead 407 

Spraying Peach and Plum Trees. ...232, 410 

Squashes 198 

Stables, How to Build 345 

Stifle 339 

Stone Walls Without Cement 329 

Strawberries 251 

Sweet Corn for Syrup 292 

Sweet Potatoes 105 

" "■ Kiln Dried 325 

Tanning Deer Skins 393 and 395 

" Fur Skins 393 and 394 

" Calf Skins, etc 396 

Tea and Silk Culture, Remarks on 307 

Teosinte : 66 

Time to Plow at the South 308 

Tomatoes 158 

" for Winter 162 

To Make Cows Easy Milkers 348 

To Make Fish Bite 380 

Tobacco, Modes of Culture 281 

" Curing 286 

" Bulking 287 

" Worms, to Poison Them 285 

Trapping Minks, etc 379 

Truck Farming 70 

Turnips 1 72 

Vegetables 84 

Vinegar 407 

Walnuts, Black 270 

'* English 271 

*' Japan 274 

Watermelons 193 

Watering Horses 343 

Weevil, to Destroy in Seed Beans, etc. 171 

Willows, Basket 298 

Windmills and Irrigation 319 

Winter Pastures 35 

Winter Rye 41 

Wheat 43 





Introductory* 



^ 



NEW era has commenced in the South 
in agriculture and horticulture. The 
great natural resources and advantages 
of this part of the country, in soil, 
climate, seasons, and crops are being 
recognized and utilized as never before. 

Instead of the old plan of growing only cotton and corn, 
and buying everything else, it is now the policy, and found 
to be to the profit of every progressive Southern farmer, to 
diversify his crops ; and if development in this direction is 
kept up, and it certainly will be, the South will soon become 
practically independent in the matter of agricultural and 
horticultural products ; and not only is this true, but this 
crop diversity, instead of lowering the fertility of the soil until 
it is fit for nothing but to be turned out as "old fields," given 
over to sedge grass, and not considered worth a dollar an 
acre, will if skillfully handled make it more productive and 
valuable from year to year, and in this way the value of 
Southern farms will be increased hundreds of millions of 



Z INTRODUCTORY. 

dollars, lands will sell for better prices, and the whole South 
become richer. 

Another element of Southern progress is found in the 
fact that great numbers of sturdy farmers are now leaving the 
Northern States and locating in the South; finding homes 
here where there are such inviting conditions, where lands 
are still so remarkably cheap, and where the climate is mild 
and delightful, contrasting so favorably in this respect with 
that of the countries from which they have emigrated. 

This is an inviting land to come to. The immigrant 
does not suffer here the hardships which confront him in 
many new locations. In the South he will find drinking 
and stock water plentiful and excellent almost everywhere, 
rains seasonable, irrigation unnecessary, winters short, sum- 
mers delightful, health unsurpassed. The difference between 
a hard winter of six months and a mild one of six weeks is 
readily appreciated. 

Here timber for building, fencing and fuel is abundant, 
and the immigrant can build his own house with his own 
materials, even to the foundations, root cellars and chimneys, 
for good building stone is found in almost every part of the 
South. Here failures of crops are virtually unknown, and 
with fruits and vegetables in plentiful supply, and pasturage 
for his cattle with small expense the year round, the incomer 
may lead a joyful life. 

The early springs give the farmer, gardener and fruit 
raiser the cream of the market in prices on all products 
shipped North, and with late falls, and frosts long delayed, 
ample time is given for double cropping, and in many cases 
treble cropping the same season. 



INTRODUCTORY. 3 

The advantages possessed by the South in the depart- 
ment of stock-raising — namely : in a mild, salubrious climate, 
permanent pastures, and cheap fattening foods, are very 
great. It is a fact now well known and established, that a fat 
ox or hog can be put on the market at from one-third to 
one-half the cost of those raised in the North or Northwest, 
although they are equal in value and quality, and bring the 
same prices as those Northern raised. 

Having resided in the South for over a quarter of a 
century and having traveled all over it, from Virginia around 
to the southern border of Texas, and from Kentucky down 
to Florida, the writer feels that he is prepared to judge 
truthfully and correctly of the resources, crop possibilities, 
healthfulness, friendliness of the people and general desira- 
bility of this good land, especially as he compares it with 
Illinois, New York and Old England, where the earlier years 
of his life were spent. 

The writer cannot, of course, claim to know all that is 
herein stated of his own knowledge and experience ; he has 
availed himself largely of the researches, experiments and dis- 
coveries of others, and is especially under obligations for many 
facts given, to the Agricultural Experiment Stations, located 
in the South, and desires to make especial mention of the aid 
so kindly given by Professor R. L, Bennett, director of the 
Agricultural Experiment Station, at Fayetteville, Ark. 

To all those who have so generously aided him in the 
preparation of this work, the writer desires to express his 
grateful obligations. 

Nothing is set down here extravagantly, the design has 
been to understate rather than overstate Southern crops and 
advantages. This book is written with the desire to help 



4 INTRODUCTORY, 

those who wish to diversify their crops and learn of new 

sources of profit, and to emphasize truthfully the favorable 

features of Southern agriculture. 

To the progressive Southern farmer and fruit raiser, the 

enterprising market gardener, the man who believes in an 

all-around, fruitful Southland, and desires to develop it "for 

all it is worth," and to those who have lately moved into the 

South, or who are investigating the question of migration 

hitherward, who are tired of cold winters, blizzards and 

droughts, this book is respectfully dedicated. 

E. M. P. 
Little Rock, Ark, 








PART L 

^ Grasses ^ 

AND OTHER FORAGE CROPS FOR THE SOUTH. 



;:itfS^ 




^ 



HE cultivation of grasses, both for hay 
and pasturage, is considered by all 
prominent agricultural authorities of 
America and Europe as the founda- 
tion, the corner stone as it were, of 
good farming. 
The South is eminently a grass country, having hundreds 
of varieties of native grasses, and while it is found that the 
cultivated grasses of the North do remarkably well, other ex- 
cellent varieties that cannot be grown at the North, also thrive 
here and are exceedingly profitable. 

Every farmer in the South then, should have his perma- 
nent pastures and meadows, and the old practice of "pulling 
corn fodder" should be abandoned as obsolete. The raising 
of abundant crops of hay and grass at the South is no longer 
an experiment, and it is proven that bountiful supplies of 
nutritious fodder can be produced at the South with infinitely 
less labor and expense than by the old corn fodder pulling 
system. 



6 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER's 

In the South also, cattle and hogs can be much more 
cheaply raised and fattened than at the North, as any one 
investigating the subject will find, and of which fact we hope 
to thoroughly convince the readers of this book. 

All the beef and pork products, the fresh and corned 
beef, the bacon, lard and hams, used at the South should be 
and will soon be raised here; they can certainly be produced 
here at less expense and of as good quality as at the North, 
and with the great extension of grazing and forage raising, 
now opening out in every Southern State, the dairy products, 
the butter and cheese, can and will be made here. 

Certainly the time has come when the many millions of 
dollars that are annually sent North for bacon, hams, lard, 
choice beef, butter, cheese, etc., should be retained at home. 
Cotton, though not by any means given up, must take a back 
seat, and pastures, meadows, grasses, clover, corn, cattle, 
hogs, sheep, cowpeas, creameries and cheese factories, come 
to the front. 

The old German adage runs thus: "No grasses, no 
cattle; no cattle, no manure; no manure, no farm." Pastures, 
meadows, grasses, fodder plants, cattle, creameries, grain, 
potatoes, fruit, beef and hogs, should be the rallying cries of 
the South. There is as good money in these as there ever 

was in cotton. 

BERMUDA GRASS. 

As a permanent pasture grass at the South, Bermuda is 
unexcelled. It furnishes an abundance of rich, sugary herb- 
age, of which cattle, horses, hogs and sheep are very fond. 

The method of propagation is very simple and inexpen- 
sive. Small pieces of the plant are dropped 3 or 4 feet apart 
and pressed in with the foot, on land that has been well 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. • 7 

plowed and harrowed. Another plan is to cut the Bermuda 
sod up in a hay cutter or chop it with a hatchet, scatter 
it over the ground, and harrow, or harrow and roll it in. 
Do not let the seed plant get too dry before planting, and 
you will have no trouble in getting it to grow. It will cover 
the ground with a strong sod, and when once established it 
is permanent. When the ground is damp in the spring or 
fall, is of course, the best time to plant. 

It is not necessary that the soil be rich, it will thrive on 
sandy land, or poor pine hills, but of course grows faster and 
produces more feed to the acre on good, rich soil, than on 
poor, just as any other forage plant will, still it is marvelous 
how it thrives on poor land, and what an immense yield of 
excellent pasturage it affords. Droughts, close feeding and 
tramping cannot kill it, in fact do not seem to harm it much. 

It affords a vast amount of the best pasturage for nine 
months in the year; and while it is not considered a hay 
grass, yet on good soil it grows tall enough to cut for that 
purpose, and will yield 2 to 4 tons of hay in a season. It is 
a much more profitable grass, either for pasturage or hay, 
than Timothy, as it is perennial, costs nothing for seeding, 
and yields a greater tonnage when cut. On a dairy or stock 
farm, it is almost invaluable at the South. 

BERMUDA AND RED CLOVER COMBINED. 

Should you at any time wish to enrich the soil it grows 
on, run a harrow over it in the winter, or run over it with a 
bull-tongue plow, and sow it rather thinly to clover, which 
will catch splendidly on the Bermuda sod, and grow finely 
with it as a combined crop, enriching the ground at the 
same time. The second year, by keeping cattle off from 



8 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

it, you can mow the field, which will give you a large crop 
of most excellent hay. 

METHODS OF DESTROYING BERMUDA GRASS. 

Some of our farmers are afraid to plant Bermuda, fearing 
they may not be able to kill it out and get rid of it finally. 
We answer this by asking, what is the use of wanting to get 
rid of such a valuable and inexpensive pasture as this; one 
that, in the first place, never wears out, and costs almost 
nothing for seeding? 

If, however, you insist on getting rid of it, do not try to 
plow and cultivate it out, that, if not impossible, is a hard 
thing to do. The better way is to sow it heavily to cowpeas 
as early in the spring as danger from frost is gone, and as 
soon as they are ready to harvest, break the ground again 
and sow to the same crop. 

The Agricultural Experiment Station, at Fayetteville, 
Ark,, gives in its very valuable bulletin No. 28, the following 
methods for the destruction of Bermuda grass : 

"When Bermuda takes possession of a piece of ground, 
it forms a most compact sod and is eradicated with consid- 
erable difficulty, but less than is generally supposed when 
treated in the proper manner. As remarked, portions of the 
station property were well sodded in this grass. Different 
methods were resorted to for the purpose of destroying it. 
An area was divided into five plots and treated as follows: 

^^Plot I . Plowed and cross plowed with scooter at in- 
tervals of from one to three weeks, each plowing followed by 
harrow. 

^^Plot 2. Plowed and cross plowed with 14-inch heel- 
sweep at intervals of from one to three weeks, each plowing 
followed by harrow. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 9 

'^Plot J . Planted in oats in February, oats harvested in 
June and plot immediately treated as plot i. 

^^Plot 4. Planted in oats in February, oats harvested in 
June and plot immediately treated as plot 2. 

^^ Plot 5. Planted in oats in February, oats harvested in 
June and plot immediately plowed and cross plowed with 
scooter and harrowed. One week later planted in cowpeas 
sown thick in 2}4 foot drills. Peas cultivated twice with 
heel sweep and harvested for hay in September, when plot 
was again broken with scooter, and harrowed. 

"The results were very satisfactory on all five plots, the 
grass being practically destroyed, particularly on plots 2 to 
5 inclusive. On plot i the destruction was not so complete. 
The first two plots were given the same treatment and at the 
same time, except that the plowing was done with scooter on 
plot I and with heel sweep on plot 2. Throughout the ex- 
periment there was more grass on plot i than on plot 2, 
indicating that the heel sweep did more effectual work than 
the scooter. The heel sweep passing under the propagating 
parts of the plant and cutting the feeding roots left it in a 
better condition to be harrowed to the surface and killed by 
the heat of the sun. The scooter cut the sod into a greater 
number of pieces, but did not sever the fibrous roots which 
held the plant and made the work of the harrow less effective. 
As soon after each rain as the soil was sufficiently dry for 
work, plots I and 2 were subjected to a repetition of the 
above treatment, and again in dry weather, at intervals of 
from one to three weeks, or as soon as any growth appeared, 
whether Bermuda or other grasses, or weeds. Such a quan- 
tity of the dead Bermuda remained on the surface after the 



10 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

first harrowing that it was raked into piles, some of which 
was put in gullies and the other burned. 

"The oats on plots 3, 4 and 5 had begun to cover the 
ground before the Bermuda had made much growth, and 
when it appeared it was upright, as much so as the oats, and 
did not spread upon the surface of the soil as it did on plots 
I and 2. The oats served the purpose of not only prevent- 
ing the Bermuda already there from spreading, but made it 
more succulent and tender by shading and vastly more sus- 
ceptible to the effects of plowing, harrowing, and the heat of 
the sun (when the oats were removed) , the combined effects 
of which left very little after the first treatment. A week 
later the peas were planted on plot 5 for the purpose of giv- 
ing the grass, should there be any left, a second shading 
followed by exposure to the hot sun. The rows were 30 
inches apart and the peas planted continuously in the drill. 
The peas were cultivated twice with 18-inch heel sweep, two 
furrows being run the first and one the second plowing. A 
warm, dry day in September was selected for the harvesting 
of the peas for hay. The vines were removed as soon as cut 
and the plot plowed with heel sweep and harrowed. There 
was no grass on the plot when the peas were removed. The 
alternate shading and exposure to the hot sun in dry weather 
proves most effectual in killing Bermuda, particularly when 
the exposure to sun is accompanied by a thorough scarifica- 
tion of the surface of the soil. 

"The turning plow is not infrequently used for fighting 
Bermuda and generally with poor results, unless the plow is 
run shallow. This plow is used in the fall of the year and it 
is expected to bring the grass to the surface to be killed by 
freezes. If the plowing is done deep this object is defeated, 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUrDE. 11 

for the grass (a portion of it at least) is turned under and not 
up, and really planted again; but if the plowing is shallow 
the propagating parts of the plants are left near the surface, 
and if dragged out by the harrow, may be killed. If this is 
done in dry, hot weather, the results are satisfactory, partic- 
ularly so if the grass has previously been well shaded by 
some growing crop, such as oats, rye, barley, peas or millet, 
but for the complete destruction of Bermuda sod, however 
thick, I recommend the following treatment: 

"Break close with scooter (bull-tongue), cross plow with 
14-inch heel sweep and harrow thoroughly, A few days 
later harrow in rye or barley in the fall or oats in the spring. 
Cut grain for hay and remove from ground. Break again 
with scooter and heel-sweep as before and harrow in dry 
weather. If grass is not all killed, plant peas (whippoorwill 
or unknown cowpeas) thick in 2^ or 3 foot rows and culti- 
vate frequently with heel sweep until peas lap across rows. 
If grass still remains, which is very improbable, cut pea vines 
and plow and harrow again. The plowing in all cases should 
be thorough, no unbroken places being left. By this treat- 
ment the Bermuda will be destroyed and the labor employed 
for its destruction will have produced two crops in one year 
on the same soil, either of which will pay for the labor ex- 
pended for the production of both, and the Bermuda killed 
incidentally and without cost." 

SCOOTER PLOW AND HEEL SCRAPE ATTACHMENT. 

These implements are mentioned frequently in this book 

and it may be well to describe them, as the names, if not the 

articles, may be new to some. The names are those adopted 

by the Agricultural Experiment Station at Fayetteville, Ark., 



12 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and we give below an engraving of them, loaned to us 
by Professor Bennett, and his description taken from the 
station bulletin No. 31. 

The scooter will be readily seen to be the old-fashioned, 
narrow bladed, bull-tongue plow. 

We quote from the descriptions as given by Professor 
Bennett, as follows : 

"In view of the efficiency of the heel scrape for cultivat- 
ing crops, especially cotton and corn, to destroy noxious 
vegetation and to mulch the soil to conserve moisture, I dis- 
play below a cut of the two tools, attached to and detached 




HEEL SCRAPE AND SCOOTER. 

from a single stock. They can be used on a walking cul- 
tivator just as well as on a single stock. The scrape can 
be attached under the scooter in front of the foot of the 
stock, but it does not run so level or satisfactory as when 
attached behind the heel of the foot. The depth of the fur- 
row and inclination of the wings can be regulated by the 
back band, the foot of the plow where it is attached to the 
beam, and by the clevis. The clevis should be moved first 
when necessary to regulate the scrape. The scrapes shown 
in the cut are 16 and 24 inches long and 2^ inches wide. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 13 

The scooter is 7 inches long and 3^ inches wide. I think 
when the scrape and scooter are once used and understood, 
they will supersede other and more expensive and less 
effective plows now in general use in the State for cultivating 
crops. 

"I have taken from bulletin 27 a description of the 
scrape and how to make it. 

^'The Scrape and Scooter. — I have found them, when 
used together, to be one of the best implements for shallow 
cultivation of corn and cotton. They can be attached to a 
single stock or to a cultivator. The scrape can be made any 
length, and for all plowing after the first they are used from 
18 to 24 inches long, that is, they will cut that width of 
surface. The scrape should run level, and is held steadily 
in the ground by the short scooter. The best work is done 
when the scrape is attached to the heel of the foot. They 
are inexpensive, easily sharpened, of light draft and do the 
most efficient work. If the scrape is not found in all small 
markets it can be easily made in any blacksmith shop. A 
piece of steel about one-quarter of an inch thick and about 
2j^ inches wide, and cut to any length desired, is sufficient. 
One edge is sharpened, a hole made in the middle for the 
heel bolt, and from about i to i ^ inches on each side of the 
center of the hole, bend the two ends back to an angle be- 
tween 30 and 35 degrees. The cutting edge should be made 
so that when placed upon a level surface all parts of it will 
touch the surface. The top edge is then inclined backward 
so as to place the lower cutting edge in a cutting position. 
In this shape the scrape easily cuts all tap-rooted vegetation 
and at the same time lifts the soil, allowing it to fall over be- 
hind the scrape in a thoroughly pulverized condition. By 



14 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER's 

the use of a long scrape, when corn and cotton are advanced 
in growth, cultivation can be done close to the stalks without 
breaking the limbs, and the short scooter is far enough off so 
as not to disturb any large roots. With it two furrows will 
thoroughly cultivate each middle, leaving no ridge of soil, 
but instead a level surface. The scrape is so effective in its 
work, that when used a greater part of the costly and unben- 
eficial hoeing is avoided. 

"Cultivation of crops is not done to break the soil, for 
it is presumed the soil was thoroughly broken before plant- 
ing. If, however, rains or other agencies harden or pack 
the soil after planting, the breaking should be done at the 
first working and not afterwards. The essential things in 
cultivating crops are to prevent grass and weeds from grow- 
ing and to keep the surface soil in good tilth or mulched 
with loose earth. To accomplish these things deep plowing 
is not only unnecessary, but harmful. In cultivation only 
the surface soil should be worked, and implements used that 
will do that thoroughly. If soils are well drained the seed 
bed should be low to allow level and shallow culture. When 
the beds are high, deep and high cultivation is almost una- 
voidable. Besides the importance to the crop of shallow and 
level culture, the easier draft and speed obtained in it is also 
important." 

JOHNSON GRASS. 

FAVORABLE AND UNFAVORABLE POINTS. 

This is one of the most wonderful hay grasses of the 
world. It grows from 8 to lo feet tall on good ground, and 
can be propagated either from the roots or from seed. It 
should always be cut when half grown. Being a member of 
the sorghum family, it has a sweet juice, and stock are ex- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 15 

ceedingly fond of it. It is a very fattening and healthy food, 
keeping stock in prime condition. 

It can be cut profitably four or five times in a season, 
yielding from 5 to 8 tons per acre, according to the richness 
of the soil, and the hay should bring as good price in the 
market as Timothy, as government experiment tests show it 
to be richer in fat and flesh producing elements than Timothy 
hay. 

It is a perennial grass, like the Bermuda, and when once 
established all expense and care of it ceases, excepting as to 
cutting and curing of the hay. Getting fodder in this way is 
much easier and less expensive than "pulling corn fodder." 
A big barn full of Johnson hay can be secured at less cost 
than it takes to pull, tie up and stack 200 bundles of corn 
fodder; and a barn full of Johnson hay means fat calves, 
cattle and horses in the spring. We advise all our Southern 
farmers to try a few acres of this wonderful and easily grown 
forage plant. 

A few words of caution should be added. // should not 
be left to ripen its seed so that it can spread itself by this 
means where it is not wanted, for once in the ground it is 
very hard to eradicate. It will take the entire farm if allowed 
to seed itself. It is best not to sow it close up to fences, 
where it can get into fence corners, go to seed and catch over 
in the next lot. Better leave a belt of land 20 or 30 feet 
wide all around the patch next to the fence and plant that in 
corn, potatoes or field peas — anything that will keep the 
Johnson grass out of the fence corners. 

TO KILL JOHNSON GRASS. 
If, however, it should be found that the ground it occu- 
pies is needed for some other crop, or it has established itself 



16 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

where it is not wanted, the directions given above for the 
eradication of Bermuda grass, will apply with slight modifi- 
cations to Johnson grass. Break the ground thoroughly in 
midwinter, and cross-plow with heel sweep, to sever the tough 
root connections, harrow thoroughly and sow heavily with 
oats early in the spring, so that the grass stems may be 
dwarfed and made juicy and tender by the shade of the oats. 
When these are well grown cut them for hay, and plow up 
the stubble well with scooter and heel sweep, as at first; then 
harrow thoroughly, and drill in a heavy sowing of cowpeas, 
the rows being 30 inches apart; cultivate once or twice to 
give the peas a good start, and when these are ripe and 
harvested the scooter plow and heel sweep should be run 
through again, and if all the grass does not then prove to be 
killed, sow the field to crimson (not red) clover (see page 
30), which will doubtless finish it, and your land will then 
be in excellent condition to plow and plant to potatoes in the 
spring, and you will have harvested two or three crops of 
good hay while killing out the Johnson grass. 

These two grasses (Bermuda and Johnson grass) will 
supply Southern farmers with abundant and excellent pastur- 
age and hay, but if a diversity of feed is desired, or fine hay 
to sell at a good price in some town near by, put a few acres 

into 

TIMOTHY GRASS. 

This plant is generally grown for hay, and not as a pas- 
ture grass, but when sown in connection with red clover it 
does well for that purpose. In fact this is probably the best 
way to grow it, for either pasture or hay; and while it does 
not produce here, when sown by itself, as great a tonnage of 
hay as some other varieties do, yet when combined with 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 17 

clover it produces a hay of much higher feeding value, and 
better liked by stock, than clover alone. 

It should be sown in the fall, in September or October, 
mixed with the clover seed, in the proportion of i pound of 
clover to two-thirds of a pound of Timothy. 

Sandy soils are not suited to the growth of this grass. 
Clay or clay loam soils give the best results. A good and 
deep preparation of the soil is desirable, and the surface 
should be rendered fine and mellow by harrowing. If sown 
in a wet season very little covering will be necessary. A good 
plan is to mix the combined seed with dry wood ashes, sow 
broadcast and give it at once a light harrowing. If the 
weather is dry and likely to remain so, a more thorough har- 
rowing should be given, that the seeds may be covered more 
deeply; or the seeding can be done to good advantage with 
a seed drill. 

Timothy to be cut for hay should not be allowed to 
ripen its seed; it should always be cut in the bloom. Ten 
to fourteen pounds of the mixed clover and Timothy seed 
are required per acre. Timothy seed alone costs from 5 to 
10 cents per pound according to quantity bought. 

ALFALFA. 

It is a mistake to suppose that this valuable food plant 
will only thrive in California or Colorado, where it can be 
irrigated. It grows splendidly in the South wherever the 
land is rich, or is made rich by fertilizers, and is thoroughly 
and deeply plowed, and pulverized by harrowing. 

Alfalfa will not do well at the North, it thrives best in a 
warmer climate, and succeeds admirably on any of the varie- 
ties of soil found here, such as rich bottom land (if well 
p 3 



18 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

drained), red clay, yellow clay, clay loams, black or chocolate 
sandy, light sandy, or on soils with limestone base like those 
of Texas, Alabama and some parts of Arkansas and Virginia. 

This plant should never be pastured, but cut and cured, 
or fed green, and should not even be cut the first year, as the 
great thing is to secure a good stand ; after it is once estab- 
lished it is good for twenty years, and will yield from 5 to 10 
tons of hay, or 30 tons of green feed, per acre; and i 
acre will keep five horses, mules or cows in prime condition 
the year round, or will feed and fatten as many hogs as 3 
acres of average corn. It should not be sown in a shady 
place — it likes sunshine — neither sliould a wet and poorly 
drained piece of ground be selected. 

In order to secure a good stand, drill in the seed in rows 
18 inches apart, early in the spring, or in September, and 
keep it clean with small horse hoe or cultivator. After the 
first season it will take care of itself, and is ready for use 
very early in the spring and can be cut three or four times 
each year; but it is best to leave a good growth on the 
ground in the fall, to act as a winter protection. 

Twenty pounds of seed are sufficient to sow per acre, 
and cost from 10 to 15 cents per pound, according to 
quantity bought. 

Alfalfa ought to be raised all over the South, it is much 
more easily raised than cotton or corn, and when once estab- 
lished is permanent and costs nothing but the cutting and 

curing. 

THE COWPEA. 

This is not exactly a pea, but more properly belongs to 

the bean family. It is becoming known as a highly valuable 

fodder and fertilizing crop. If desired the pods may be har- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 19 

vested for the grain, and the plants plowed under to fertilize 
the soil. The seed or grain is ground and used for cattle 
feed ; the stalk and leaves also make excellent fodder, fed 
green. Poor, sandy land may be greatly improved by plow- 
ing under a crop of cowpeas, and thus made into a fertile 
loam. Plant in a thoroughly pulverized soil. If wanted to 
plow under for manure, sow with a grain drill, in drills a foot 
apart. If grown for fodder or the seed, plant 3^ feet apart 
and cultivate thoroughly. The seed must not be sown until 
the soil has become thoroughly warm. It takes from i ^ to 
2 bushels to sow an acre, costing from $1.50 to $2 per 
bushel. 

This Southern fodder plant has great value in several 
ways. It furnishes a heavy growth of green feed of a highly 
nitrogenous character, and with care to prevent its heating 
and moulding, can be cured, forming an excellent hay. 

Two crops will mature on the same ground in one sea- 
son in the South. The peas are a valuable food for man or 
beast. 

As a fertilizer, to be plowed under, either green or dry, 
this plant is not surpassed by clover or any other known vege- 
table growth ; even the roots which remain in the ground 
after each crop is harvested, contribute to the fertilization of 
the soil; and this plant can be profitably grown after oats, 
wheat, or other grain, to better the condition of the land for 
the next season's crops. 

At the Agricultural Experiment Sub-station, at Newport, 
Ark,, it was found that cowpea vines, with pods on the 
vines, plowed under, increased the yield of wheat over 250 
per cent above unmanured land, while vines with the pods 
off increased it 200 per cent, and cowpea roots alone 100 per 



20 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

cent. As it takes two years to grow a crop of red clover 
suitable to plow under, while two crops of cowpeas can be 
grown in one, the great value of this plant as a fertilizing 
crop is apparent. 

COWPEA HAY. 

The only drawback to the use of cowpea hay as fodder, 
has been the difiliculty found in curing it without having it 
heat and mold. If thoroughly sun dried, the stems are 
hardened, and the mature pods are broken off and lost. 
Dews also damage the hay, and the leaves, the most impor- 
tant part of the plant excepting the peas, drop off. 

To overcome these difficulties, Professor R. L. Bennett, 
of the Agricultural Experiment Station, at Fayetteville, Ark., 
has devised a "stack-frame for curing and storing cow- 
pea hay." By the courtesy of Professor Bennett we are 
allowed to present here the cut which he had made of this 
device and to give the following abridged description: 

The plan of construction is a series of open shelves ar- 
ranged one above the other. The shelves are made of fence 
rails placed 12 inches apart, their ends resting on horizontal 
supports. The supports are nailed 2 feet apart to upright 
posts put with one end securely in the ground. Strips 1x4, 
with one end resting on the ground, are nailed diagonally to 
the horizontal supports for braces. They are essential to 
prevent the frame from inclining, and for supporting and 
holding in place the ends of the horizontal pieces. 

The length of the stack-frame can be increased indefi- 
nitely by erecting frames similar to the one shown, in the 
front end of the stack, distant from each other the length 
of a fence rail, or whatever is used. These cross frames can 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 21 

be made on the ground and then set in place. The sides of 
the stack must be perpendicular, since pea vines will not turn 
water. To give the top the proper pitch to turn water, the 
top shelf is made narrower than the shelf below by leaving 
out the side rails, as shown in the cut. Suflficient straw or 
grass hay should be used for covering, and it must be made 




STACK-FRAME. 

to project over the edges of the first wide shelf so as to turn 
all the water off the sides of the frame. The dimensions used 
were as follows: width, lO feet (made so because the planks 
used were already cut that length) ; length, three fence rails^ 
each fence rail ii feet. Shelves or floors 2 feet apart. Rails 
placed 12 inches apart on the horizontal supports. Capacity 
4 tons dry hay; 5 tons if covered with tarpaulin. 



22 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

STACKING THE HAY. 

The first floor of rails is put about 12 inches apart on 
the horizontal supports and one man unloads the hay from 
the wagon while another places it. When hay has been put 
evenly on until it is a few inches above the place for the next 
floor, the second set of rails is put in place. They press 
down the hay, but as it dries it settles, leaving a space. This 
process is repeated until all the floors are laid and filled, and 
the hay covering, or tarpaulin or boards, are in place on 
the top. 

Small poles, taking up less space, and longer ones, can 
be used and the number of cross frames lessened. 

When feeding, remove the hay first from the lower floors, 
leaving the top covering in place until the last. Beginning 
on one side of one section the hay can be drawn out of the 
sides of the two lower floors and the rails or poles removed 
from these floors as they come in the way, and so on with 
the other floors to the top. 

If tarpaulin cover is used, a ton or more of the grass hay 
for topping out can be saved, and this will more than pay 
the cost of the cloth covers the first year. A permanent roof 
of boards can be used; and in that case, instead of using the 
diagonal braces, posts similar to the middle one can be used 
and the ends of the horizontal supports nailed to them. The 
middle posts can then be taller to support the comb of the 
roof, while the eaves would be supported by the outside 
posts. 

Professor Bennett, in the bulletin referred to, adds the 
following points and suggestions, which are valuable: 

"The vines should be stacked as soon as wilted; if cut 
in the morning and exposed to the sunlight they can be 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 23 

Stacked that evening. By stacking the vines when wilted no 
loss whatever occurs and the best possible hay is made, 

"A very important advantage can be gained by the use 
of the frame in that hay can be made independently of the 
weather. It would be advisable to have such a stack-frame 
on every farm where other hay is made, for in the event of 
rainy weather at hay making the hay could be cured and 
saved notwithstanding the unfavorable weather. 

"Cowpea hay is bulky and much barn room can be saved 
by curing and storing in the frame or by curing in the frame 
then baling the hay or stacking it around a pole. 

"By having the pea crop ready to cut at different dates 
and by the use of the stack-frame, pea hay could be grown 
extensively and baled for a market crop. 

"The frame possesses advantages of requiring a small 
amount of inexpensive material to build it, is easy to erect, 
is durable, can be easily moved from place to place without 
tearing the cross frames to pieces and hay is easily stacked 
and as easily removed from the stack. 

"As is well known there is great difference in the appear- 
ance of cowpea hay cured in the sun and that cured in the 
shade; stock also prefer that cured in the shade. To learn 
if there was any loss or difference in the two hays differently 
cured, two samples of hay, one cured in the sun and the 
other in the shade, were furnished the station chemist for 
analysis. The analysis was made, but it revealed no prac- 
tical difference in the two samples. When pea hay is cured 
in the sun the long exposure to sunlight and dews hardens the 
stems and the palatability of the hay is doubtless impaired." 

As food for stock, the value of cowpea hay should be 
better known than it is. Professor Tracy, in one of his bul- 



24 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

letins, has well said that "it will make more food in a shorter 
time than any other crop known to the Southern farmer. I 
believe the average farmer does not appreciate the cowpea 
because it is so easily and cheaply grown. He is inclined to 
think something else brought from a distance better. Cer- 
tainly, when it is remembered that each acre of peas brings 
to the soil from the air $9.60 worth of fertilizer, equal to an 
application of 1,000 pounds cotton seed meal, we will more 
justly value this easily and cheaply grown crop. Even when 
we cut the crop off for food the roots and stubble still contain 
large amounts of nitrogen taken from the air, and the manure 
made from feeding the crop is worth nearly as much for fer- 
tilizing as the crop itself." 

Cowpeas can be planted from April to August, on any 
kind of land — wet or dry, rich or poor, with almost a cer- 
tainty of getting a crop. The different varieties mature all 
the way from two and a half months to six months from 
time of planting. 

CRAB GRASS AND COWPEAS GROWN TOGETHER 

Furnish the very best hay crop. The Southern farmer 
often works exceedingly hard to keep down crab grass in his 
fields, and doubtless when this grass is among his cotton or 
corn, he does well to do so; but if he will handle it aright, 
crab grass is one of his best friends. To the farmer who has 
been fighting it all his life, this will seem a wild assertion, 
but it is nevertheless strictly true. Supposing the farmer has 
a field from which he has just harvested a crop of early Irish 
potatoes, and having several head of cattle and horses, wishes 
to provide for them a good supply of fodder. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 25 

Let him run his harrow over the field to level it nicely, 
and sow it to cowpeas, in drills 2 feet apart, thickly in the 
rows, working the peas when they are well started, once, 
then let the crab grass fight for the ground with the peas. 

This is all the culture necessary, the peas and crab grass 
growing thick together on almost any kind of soil, and form- 
ing a dense mat of vegetable growth, about 2 feet high. 
Both are benefited by the mixture of the two kinds of growth ; 
the crab grass grows taller and is more easily mowed when 
growing among the peas, and on the other hand the cowpea 
hay is much more easily cured when grown with the crab 
grass, than when grown by itself. There is one other point 
to be noted, and that is that all kinds of stock relish this 
combined hay, cowpea and crab grass, better than almost any 
other kind of feed, turning away from the best of clover and 
Timothy to eat this, and it keeps stock in excellent condition. 
From 3 to 4 tons of excellent hay can be raised in this 
manner at a cutting, per acre on good ground, and if not 
planted to potatoes first, two crops of hay can be secured 
from the same ground. 

MILLET. 

This plant is growing in favor at the South, and for a 
quickly grown and easily harvested crop, for a soiling (green 
fed) crop, or for winter fodder, it is of special value. 

It can be put in late in the spring, where the seasons 
are favorable, following some winter crop, such as winter rye 
or an early spring crop, such as Irish potatoes, and will be 
ready to cut in from sixty to seventy-five days. It should 
be cut as soon as the heads are well formed if wanted for 
feeding purposes, but if for seed, of course it must remain 



26 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

until fully formed and should then be bound in bundles the 
same as oats or wheat, thus preventing waste of seed in 
handling. Where millet is grown for the seed the value of 
the hay is greatly diminished, as the stalk becomes woody 
and hard when fully ripe. 

The German millet is the variety mostly grown at the 
South, although the Hungarian finds some favor. The Ger- 
man is a leafy variety furnishing a heavy growth of fodder, 
and if cut and cured before the seeds are formed and ripe, no 
ill effects will be found in feeding to horses or cattle. We 
should not advise to feed millet alone, but in alternation with 
other good grass hay, chopped oats straw and a little bran 
it is a fine nutritious food. 

Millet may be sown broadcast or in drills and from 25 
to 30 pounds of seed are required per acre, costing from 3 to 
10 cents per pound according to quantity purchased. 

RED CLOVER. 

This plant succeeds well wherever it is tried on clay or 
loam soils at the South. It does not succeed here well on 
poor sandy soils, and on such soils cowpeas are a preferable 
crop. It may take a little more care and thought to prepare 
the ground properly and sow at the right time, than to plow 
and plant for a corn crop, but the intelligent farmer will find 
no difficulty in growing at the South just as good clover for 
pasturage or mowing as can be grown at the North, and 
while we cannot say we think it as valuable as a Southern 
fodder plant used as hay as alfalfa, yet in furnishing pastur- 
age for cattle and hogs it is well worthy of cultivation. 
Alfalfa cannot be pastured, it will not bear being trampled on, 
while clover is of great value for pasture as well as for hay. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 27 

Besides this, the use of clover as a renovator of worn-out 
lands or to enrich those naturally poor, is too well known 
to call for more than brief mention. Clover is a good all- 
around fodder plant. It is excellent for pasturage, for hay, 
and for the land upon which it is grown, whether plowed 
under or not, the effect being greater of course where it is 
plowed under. The Southern cowpea, as we have already 
shown, will produce a crop ready for use as hay or as a 
fertilizer in one-third of the time required for a clover crop, 
but then it does not furnish a permanent pasture as we shall 
show presently, clover at the South, does. So take it all 
in all, clover should be grown all through the South wherever 
it is found to be a success. 

The seed of clover is a valuable product, worth at retail 
from $6 to $7.50 per bushel; this is usually produced from 
the second cutting of the season, the first being used for hay 
only. From 2 to 3 bushels of seed per acre is an average 
yield. Ten to fifteen pounds of seed are sown per acre, cost- 
ing from 10 to 15 cents per pound. In the South it is best 
to sow in a rainy time in the fall or in the winter, although 
good results are obtained from early spring sowings if the 
season is tolerably wet. 

Let the ground be thoroughly and deeply broken, and 
pulverized by harrowing, then sow the seed broadcast and 
harrow in with a light harrow, or run a roller over it. In the 
North it is often sown with some other crop, such as oats, 
rye, or wheat; but in the South this is not advisable. A good 
stand can almost invariably be secured by sowing without a 
nursing crop on well worked land in the fall or winter, and 
as we have said ynder the head of Bermuda grass, clover is 
found to succeed admirably when sown on Bermuda sod, and 



28 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

thus to furnish a permanent pasture. *Not that the clover 
is perennial, but that it reseeds itself, and that just at the time 
it is shedding its seed the Bermuda dying down in Decem- 
ber, January and February, furnishes an excellent seedbed 
for it to start in. When grown by itself alone and plowed 
under, clover puts the land in splendid condition for wheats 
corn, Irish or sweet potatoes, or almost any other crop, and 
is a superb fertilizing plant to sow in bearing orchards. 

Clover does more than merely to sustain the fertility of 
the soil, it increases it, drawing upon the atmosphere for the 
nitrogen almost all other plants derive from the soil. The 
long tap roots of the clover and lucerne family have also a 
mechanical effect on the soil as they bore down into it^ 
and bring to the surface the plant food, leaving when they 
die and decay, vertical drainage shafts, which carry off 
superfluous water. 

ALSIKE CLOVER. 

This plant is of European origin, but seems to be well 
suited to all parts of the United States where it has been 
tried, and valuable at the South. It is perennial, or if not 
perennial it reseeds itself so vigorously that it retains its 
hold of the soil, and so is virtually perennial. 

It thrives even in dry, hot seasons, and can be sown thin 
as it throws out several stalks from one root. It is considered 
one of the most vigorous and hardy of the clover family 
introduced into this country. The plant is full of leaves 
affording a large amount of nutritive fodder; the heads are 
small, numerous, round, and of a beautiful, delicate, crimson 
color. 

*See article on Southern Grasses by M. B. Hillyard, in May, 1895, number Southern States 
Magazine, p. 98. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 29 

It seems to prefer damp, loamy soils, but even on dry 
upland clays, with good, thorough preparation of the ground, 
the soil being deeply plowed and well pulverized, it will do 
well. It can be sown either in the fall or early spring. The 
■directions given for sowing red clover will apply equally well 
to alsike clover. 

Alsike can be cut for hay the first season, just as soon as 
it is in full blossom. It cures easily and makes an excellent 
hay of heavy tonnage to the acre, but as the heads are liable 
to break off and waste if left to get too ripe, it is recommended 
to cut it a little before all the heads are ripe, and the hand- 
ling of the hay to be done while it is in a moist condition ; 
the same kind of stacking frame as is described herein on 
page 2 1 being recommended for curing it in that somewhat 
damp condition. 

As to the value of alsike clover as a fertilizing plant, 
we have no information, but from the fact that it belongs to 
the clover family, which is known to be rich in nitrogen, 
potash and phosphorus, we feel warranted in expecting as 
good recuperative results from this as from the other mem- 
bers of the same family. Sow from 5 to 6 pounds of seed 
per acre, costing from 15 to 20 cents per pound, according 
to quantity bought. 

We recommend the farmers of the South to sow a few 
acres and test it, it may prove more valuable than red clover 
or alfalfa on account of its being ready to cut the first season 
and also that it is perennial. Alsike clover is a superb honey 
plant, the bees are very fond of it. It makes an excellent 
pasture and bears cropping by cattle well. 

Where it is intended to be cut for hay, the ground 
should not be left in ridges as plants of this family are liable 



30 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

to lodge and prove hard to cut; work the ground level. It 
is a good plant to sow with red top and other grasses that 
thrive on damp lowlands. 

CRIMSON CLOVER. 

Crimson clover ( Trifoliiun mcarnatiim') is another forage 
and pasture plant which is proving of great value at the 
South. It can either be sown in the late summer or fall, in 
which case it will mature by the last of April, or it can be 
sown in the early spring when it will be ready to cut in June 
or July. 

It grows from 20 to 30 inches high, and as the roots 
have the penetrating habit of other clovers and the plant 
draws its nitrogen chiefly from the atmosphere, it is a superb 
fertilizer. It is eminently adapted to the South, loving a 
mild, humid climate, and while it does not thrive when fall 
sown at the North, it succeeds thus admirably on the loamy,, 
friable, upland soils of the South. 

It is unlike red, alsike or alfalfa clovers, in being an 
annual plant, but as it is easily grown, no trouble being 
found ordinarily in getting a good stand and yield, it 
has proven itself to be a very valuable fodder plant. It has 
strong upright stems, and long cone-shaped heads of a rich, 
beautiful crimson color. It will be found to produce a heavy 
amount of seed, but this will require prompt attention just as 
soon as it is ripe, as the seeds shed easily. It will also be 
found excellent in orchards, to be plowed under as a fertil- 
izer, or to yield quickly as a catch crop a large amount of 
excellent forage or hay. 

To show the high esteem in which crimson clover is held 
we quote from a lately issued agricultural publication as 
follows : 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 31 

"Crimson clover has now been tested by thousands of 
farmers in all sections of the country, and has revolutionized 
methods of farming and brought under profitable culture 
thousands of acres of land which were heretofore too poor 
for tillage. It is purely an annual and must be sown every 
year. It will make a good growth on land that is too poor 
and sandy to grow red clover or any grasses at all, and will 
make an enormous growth on good land. It is valuable as 
a green manure crop, because it can be grown during the 
winter and turned under in the spring in time to plant corn 
or other crops, 

"Being strictly a supplementary and extra or 'stolen' 
crop, no other crop need be omitted to grow it ; it grows 
quickly, and adds fertility to the soil beyond the ability of any 
other known plant in so short a time. It will improve worn- 
out and poor soils more rapidly and permanently than any 
other plant in existence. It is therefore the cheapest and 
best fertilizer, also the cheapest food for all kinds of stock. 
Stock like it; will leave their grain and feed for it. It grows 
and matures its crop when other crops are dormant, furnishing 
the very best of feed and still permanently improving the 
soil. * * * jf ^iii produce on ordinary soil 8 to lo tons 
of green food per acre, i^ to 2^ tons of hay per acre ; 
plowed under as a manurial crop it is worth as a fertilizer $24 
per acre. Experiments at Experimental Stations have also 
shown that $1 invested in seed per acre added 24 bushels of 
corn. It can be sown in fields of growing corn; in open 
ground after some other crop is harvested, or in apple, peach, 
pear, plum or cherry orchards." 

The growth is so heavy as to entirely choke out a nurse 
crop. It is best sown by itself, whether sown in fall or spring. 



32 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

When sown in the fall (ripening in the early spring) the 
weather is sometimes unfavorable for curing the hay, and 
doubtless the Fayetteville Agricultural Experiment Station 
stacking frame as described on page 21, or some modification 
of it, will be found useful for this crop, or it can be cut as 
wanted and fed green, or pastured. It is a valuable acquisi- 
tion at the South, and a field of crimson clover in full bloom, 
the brilliant crimson heads surmounting the pale green foli- 
age, is one of the most beautiful sights imaginable. It is a 
sure crop, easily raised on light loamy soils; stiff clays or 
sands not being as well adapted to it; and produces a very 
heavy, dense growth of excellent forage. Sow from 10 to 12 
pounds per acre, cost 10 to 15 cents per pound. 

JAPAN CLOVER. 

The fact that this little foreign plant has established 
itself, and as it were adopted the South as its home, is one 
evidence of its value. It has traveled self-sown along the 
roads, from field to field, and from State to State, until it is 
at home in nearly every part of the South. 

While it is a fine pasture plant, it is also very valuable 
as a fertilizer ; it creeps over the poor clay hills ; dry weather 
cannot kill it ; its roots go down deep ; the cattle feed eagerly 
tjpon it, and at last when frost comes it dies down and en- 
riches the soil. We do not think it has been sown to any 
great extent at the South, but it ought to be. It should be 
given a chance upon well plowed land just as other forage 
plants, are and without doubt will be found just as valuable 
as some of the best. 

Director Bennett writes of it as follows: 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 33 

"Japan Clover {Lespedeza striata) . This plant is an 
annual and has, from an introduction into South Carolina from 
Japan, spread all over the South. It makes a better growth 
than any other plant on poor, barren, clay soils. Its hay is 
highly nutritious and when sown on good soil, especially 
bottom soil, it grows from 20 to 30 inches high. Its greatest 
value is for pastures on poor soils and for fertilizing such 
soils. It quickly takes possession of uncultivated fields and 
holds them from washing, and protects them from the hot 
sun. The plant prefers clay to sandy soil. It furnishes 
grazing from middle of May until frost kills it down. Seed 
are sown in early spring at the rate of 15 pounds per acre." 

Japan clover seed can be obtained of the Philadelphia 
or other seedsmen (see advertisements in this book), costing 
at present (1896) 35 to 45 cents per pound. 

RED TOP. 

Red top, or Herd's grass, as it is sometimes called, is 
a fine pasture and hay grass at the South, on moist land. It 
thrives in fact upon land too wet for any other grass, and 
should not be sown upon dry uplands. It is not a perennial 
grass like the Bermuda, but if allowed to mature its seed will 
die out in a few years. The Southern farmer will doubtless 
find that for an all round pasture grass, suited to nearly all 
places, soils and conditions, Bermuda is the more profitable 
grass, still red top does as well here as at the North, and 
in fact much better than it does in the arid Northwest, where 
it can only be grown on irrigated land, or on some special 
piece, made moist by springs. From 24 to 36 pounds of 
seed are used per acre costing from 7 to i 5 cents per pound, 



34 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and here again Bermuda has the advantage as it costs noth- 
ing for seed. When sown with a nurse crop such as oats or 
barley (a practice not to be recommended at the South) 
about half the quantity of seed is used. Red Top furnishes 
good hay or pasture, but as we have said should be fed close 
or cut before the seed matures, or it will soon die out. 

SORGHUM FODDER. 

Sorghum raised exclusively as a fodder crop can hardly 
be outclassed by any other plant; yielding as it does 8 to 9 
tons to the acre of the best of sweet nourishing fodder, 4 to 
5 tons the first crop or cutting, and a like amount the second. 
These cuttings should both be made before the cane gets 
hard and woody. Sorghum is a much better fodder plant 
than corn, as it yields two crops or cuttings, corn only one. 
It produces double as much forage, and is more easily cured 
than corn grown for fodder purposes. Amber cane is the 
best variety for fodder and should be sown early in May, or 
as soon as all danger from frost is gone. Plow and work the 
ground well and sow i bushel of seed broadcast or in drills 
per acre, and cut as soon as the heads begin to form; the 
first cutting being in July, when the fodder should at once 
be removed from the field, giving the second crop a chance 
to grow from the suckers, but the cut fodder must be thor- 
oughly dried before it is stacked or put under cover, or it 
will heat and spoil. On fair land it will grow 6 or 7 feet 
tall, and on rich land twice or three times that height. It 
furnishes a most excellent feed for cows, and increases both 
the flow and quality of milk. Sorghum grows rapidly after 
it once gets a start, chokes out weeds, puts the ground in 
excellent condition for the next season's crops and flourishes 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 35 

on land that is too wet for anything else excepting red top. 
It thrives on a rich, mucky soil, although it does well on any 
land that will bring a good crop of corn. It is not well to 
let cattle eat too freely of sorghum fodder in a green state, 
as it is liable to cause bloat or colic. On another page we 
have given some items on sorghum as a sugar and syrup plant. 
Sorghum is a very exhausting crop, and should only be 
grown on good strong land, which should afterwards be given 
rest, or should be recuperated by the use of cowpeas, crimson 
clover or other fertilizing plant plowed under, or enriched 
with stable manure, 

WINTER PASTURAGE. 

The Northern farmer has little use for winter pastures, 
as snows would cover them up for months, and when the 
snows melt, the ground is too wet to let the stock out on it. 
Stock of all kinds must be penned up and fed for half of the 
year; but in the South, green winter forage can be success- 
fully grown and pastured. Cattle men should note this great 
advantage and secure stock ranches here in the South, where 
stock can be handled and fed in winter so much more 
economically than at the North, and their profits correspond- 
ingly increased. 

THE BLUE GRASS FAMILY. 

The different members of the blue grass family are all 
of them useful as affording winter pasturage. Kentucky 
blue grass {Poa pratensis) is said to have been brought 
originally from England to Kentucky* "by a family which 
accompanied Daniel Boone to Boonesborough, in the first 

*U. S. Agri. Rep. 1834. p. 190. 



36 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

settlement of Kentucky, and planted it in a garden at 
that place. It became troublesome and was dug up and 
thrown over the fence. But it could not be so easily rooted 
out, and in time spread over the State, It is the 'spear- 
grass' of England." 

This may be the true origin of the blue grass of Ken- 
tucky, still it is a well known fact that in Illinois, Wyherever 
wild prairie lands were fenced up and cattle pastured upon 
the native herbage all other grasses and plants died out, and 
in a few years these unbroken lands, that a plowshare had 
never touched, were found to be thickly covered with blue 
grass. So we conclude it may have been there an indige- 
nous grass, that took the ground and pushed out all other 
growths as soon as the annual fires that used to sweep over 
the prairies, were stopped. 

This grass succeeds at the South wherever the soil is 
naturally rich in lime or is made so by the application of this 
article. It is well to give the ground you intend to sow to 
blue grass a light top dressing of thoroiLgJily slacked lime the 
season before. A good blue grass pasture can be had in an 
upland wood lot by cutting out half of the timber, grubbing 
and burning the brush, giving the ground a light plowing and 
a top dressing of lime as above, and sowing it to blue grass 
in the winter, or not later than the ist of March. 

Blue grass furnishes an excellent winter and spring 
pasture. It is green all winter and as it is perennial, it is 
good for a lifetime, but should receive a top dressing of 
manure every fifth year. There is a variety of this plant 
known as Texas blue grass {Poa arachnifera) which is said 
to be well suited to a dry climate, but we are not suf^ciently 
well posted to speak of its value. In nearly all parts of the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 37 

South there is ample rainfall to secure a good growth of the 
Kentucky blue grass, the conditions of soil being favorable. 
It is used almost exclusively as a pasture grass, and is not 
cut for hay. Its growth should be encouraged all through 
the South, as when once established no grass is better as an 
all-the-year-round pasture grass; stock are very fond of it, 
and close pasturing only seems to make it grow stronger and 
better. 

The seed weighs 14 pounds to the bushel, and costs from 
12 to 20 cents per pound according to quantity bought. 
Twenty to twenty-five pounds of seed per acre are sufficient 
to sow for pasturage, or double that amount for a lawn. A 
lately published agricultural magazine has the following: 

"In limestone districts the main pasture should, in the 
Middle States, be the Kentucky blue grass {^Poa pratensis) , 
with orchard grass in beginning. On clay uplands of the 
granitic formations or on the red sandstone formations in the 
Middle States use Virginia blue grass {Poa compressa) and 
Rhode Island bent grass, with orchard grass to start the sod 
and protect the slower grasses. The same rule will apply to 
the mountain regions of Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina and Georgia. For the Southern coast plain there 
is no grass which can equal the Bermuda grass. This, mixed 
with Texas blue grass i^Poa arachuifera), will make a perfect 
summer pasture from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico." 

ORCHARD GRASS. 

Is an excellent grass at the South, and although it 
does not keep green all winter, yet as it lasts so very late, 
and starts again so very early in the spring, it may practi- 
cally be said to be a winter grass. It succeeds on any toler- 



38 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

ably good soil not too wet, and while its name would suggest 
that a shady place, like an orchard is especially desirable for 
it, it is not found to succeed where the shade is dense. It 
forms a permanent pasture or meadow on soils suited to it, 
such as our loamy uplands and valleys, and on good soils 
grows from 2 to 2 j5^ feet high, and although it has a tendency 
to grow in tufts and bunches, this can be overcome by thick 
sowing. 

This grass may be sown with blue grass or red clover as 
a combined crop, with the latter especially, as clover thus 
sown reseeds and renews itself or it can be re-sown broadcast 
on the orchard grass late in the winter, and harrowed in. 

Orchard grass should be sown at the South in the late 
fall or early spring and from 20 to 25 pounds of seed are re- 
quired per acre, costing from 15 to 20 cents per pound. 

This plant furnishes good hay and can be cut twice in 
the season, or cut once and pastured the rest of the year. It 
is undoubtedly a better hay plant for the South than timothy, 
giving a heavier yield of hay and better pasturage. 

When grown for hay it should be cut when it is in bloom, 
before the stalk has become at all dry and woody, as it soon 
becomes unpalatable to stock if allowed to get too ripe. 
This is a strong growing, vigorous grass, makes a good per- 
manent pasture, stands dry weather well, and should be 
given a trial by our progressive farmers, especially as a com- 
bined crop with red clover is mentioned above. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 39 

LIME ON GRASS LANDS. 
In regard to the use of lime on grass lands, not only 
when sown to blue grass but to the other cultivated varieties, 
we quote a short article written by Professor C. O. Flagg, 
director Rhode Island Experiment Station, as follows : 

^•THE SECRET OF A GOOD CATCH OF GRASS SEED ON 

LIGHT SOILS. 

"From numerous complaints about poor grass crops on 
light soils, even when well manured and with a fair amount 
of moisture, it seems to me that the trouble in many cases is 
due to failure in getting a good catch of grass seed. Now 
here, on the Experiment Station farm, we have been contend- 
ing with just that difficulty for several years. Our plain land 
is sandy loam underlaid by a stratum of yellow loam 2 or 3 
feet in thickness, which in turn is underlaid by porous gravel 
of unknown depth, the permanent water table being about 18 
feet below the surface. This land was in a thoroughly ex- 
hausted condition when purchased for experimental station 
use. Liberal amounts of chemicals and fertilizers, ordinarily 
purchased as sources of plant food, have been used experi- 
mentally on portions of this plain, but without success so far 
as the securing of a stand of grass or clover was concerned. 

"Not until an application of air-slacked lime was made 
has success been attained, and repeated experiment has 
shown that the presence or absence of air-slacked lime ac- 
counts for the success or failure on this particular farm. 
There appears to be, and repeated experiment has pretty 
well demonstrated the fact, an acid condition of the soil suffi- 
cient to prevent the growth of our ordinary grasses and 
clover in their infancy. Seeds germinate well, but after de- 



40 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

veloping two or three leaves, the plants turn yellow and soon 
die. Where the fields have been treated to an applicatiort 
of from I to 3 tons per acre of common air-slacked lime 
thoroughly worked into freshly plowed fields before seed- 
ing, clover and Herd's grass present an entirely different 
appearance. The young plants are of a dark green color 
and vigorous growth, and this season we have had heavy 
crops from both Herd's grass and clover seeding. By the 
liberal use of unleached wood ashes the same purpose may 
be accomplished, as wood ashes contain a large per cent of 
carbonate of lime, but if, as I suspect in many instances, the 
beneficial effect of wood ashes is due to the carbonate of lime 
rather than to the potash in promoting the growth of clover, 
one can accomplish the same results more economically by 
purchasing and applying air-slacked lime. The effect of 
lime may be twofold : ( i ) As a chemical agent in correct- 
ing any excessive acid condition of the soil; (2) a mechani- 
cal effect by flocculating the finer particles of the soil, making 

it more retentive of moisture. 

* * ******* * 

"My observation of the sandy soils of the South, espe- 
cially of the Atlantic States, suggests that lime, plaster (gyp- 
sum) , or clay, one or all, may at times prove useful as 
fertilizers or aids. 

''Of course lime of itself is not sufficient to produce good 
crops, a sufficient amount of potash, phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen should be added to produce an average crop of 
hay." 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 41 

WINTER RYE. 
We doubt if there is any one crop that gives young colts, 
brood mares, cows, calves and sheep more joy than a winter 
rye pasture in the months of January and February at the 
South, coming as it does when almost every other species of 
green forage plant is in its worst form. To be able just then 
to turn such stock in on a green succulent pasture is no less 
a joy to the animals, than it is profitable to the farmer. Rye 
will thrive on almost any kind of soil, rich or poor, and if 
plowed under after it has been pastured, is of considerable 
advantage to the land, as a fertilizer. Sow in the autumn, 
after other crops, such as cowpeas, cotton, sweet potatoes or 
corn, are harvested, as early as you can after the fall rains 
have commenced, and the ground is moist. From one and 
a half bushels, where sown with a drill, to two and a half 
where sown by hand, is required, the seed costing about one 
dollar per bushel. Put sheep and young calves on it in the 
late fall as soon as a good stand is secured, thus preventing 
"jointing" until the spring. After this, turn in brood mares, 
and colts, young cattle, etc., and lastly the pigs can come in 
for their share. It must not be pastured too late in the sea- 
son however, if it is to be cut as a grain or hay crop. The 
proper date to cease pasturing will of course depend some- 
what upon season, soil, etc., but as a general thing all stock 
should be taken off from it in the South by the last of March^ 
if it is to be cut for this purpose, but if it is to be turned 
under as a green manure it may be pastured somewhat later. 
By the time it gets to heading, stock lose their relish for it. 



42 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

ARTICHOKES FOR HOGS, SHEEP, ETC. 

This plant, commonly known as the Jerusalem artichoke 
(Heliantlius titberosiis) , is one of the easiest fodder plants to 
raise, yields immensely, and does excellently in the South. 
From 600 to 800 bushels are produced on good land per 
acre, and even crops of 1,000 to 1,500 bushels are quoted. 
Hogs and sheep are very fond of this food, the former dig- 
ging them themselves. 

This plant should not be confounded with the garden 
artichoke, (Cynara scolynms), which has no tuberous root, 
and is of no known value to the farmer. 

The Jerusalem artichoke is grown from root sets, the same 
as potatoes. Plant in rows 4 feet apart running north and 
south and set from 2 to 3 feet apart in the rows; 6 to 
8 bushels plant an acre, and cost from $1 to $1.50 at the 
seed stores. They will grow on almost any kind of soil but 
of course do better on good, rich land. The stalks also, if 
cut and cured before frost, make excellent and ample fodder, 
and all kinds of stock — horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs 
are very fond of it. They should be cultivated the same as 
corn or potatoes. Artichokes are a good crop for orchard 
growth, if not placed too close to the trees. Pigs can be 
turned in when the crop is ripe and will cultivate the ground 
thoroughly while finding the tubers. At the end of the year, 
put on a top dressing of manure, harrow down smooth and 
the small roots left in the ground are ample seed for the next 
year's crop. Hogs thrive on this food, and it is estimated 
that an acre of artichokes, grown on good land, and where 
both the roots and stalks are utilized, is worth from $300 to 
$500 to the farmer. 




PART n. 

^ Cereals* ^ 

WHEAT. 

INTER wheat thrives well in almost 
all parts of the South, especially 
so in Texas, Alabama, parts of 
Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, 
Missouri, Arkansas and the Vir- 
^^'•^1^% ^i ginias. In many other parts of 
the Southern country it will doubt- 
less, upon trial, be found to succeed, but cotton has for so 
many years pushed it out of the way, that it has erroneously 
been set down as not adapted for Southern soils and climate. 
Until man finds some breadstuff better than wheat flour, this 
grain will doubtless continue to be a favorite and under pro- 
pitious circumstances a profitable crop. 

Land planted in the middle South to Irish potatoes in 
February, crop harvested in May, then sown to cowpeas, 
and this crop ripe in August — (whether the cowpeas are 
then plowed under or harvested for hay, and of course with 




44 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENEr'S 

ordinary uplands the former is the preferable course) the 
Southern farmer has his land in prime condition for plowing- 
for the sowing of wheat in September, 

In any case let the plowing be deep and thorough, the 
ground well harrowed and the seed if possible drilled in; but 
if sown broadcast let the harrow follow the sower and if the 
season be dry run over the ground, after seeding and harrow- 
ing, with a light roller. This will almost invariably secure 
the germination of the seed, and a good stand. It has been 
found by experiment that 3 inches is the proper depth ; 
better than either 2 or 4 inches. 

The application of lime at the rate of from 5 to la 
barrels per acre, letting it first become air slacked, will be 
found to have an excellent effect on stiff clay soils, rendering 
them remarkably friable and porous, and is to be recom- 
mended in fact on all soils deficient in lime, upon which 
wheat is to be sown. In some parts of Pennsylvania as much 
as from 75 to 100 bushels of lime are applied per acre to- 
wheat lands. The judicious use of lime has been found to 
largely increase the yield of wheat on most soils, even on 
sandy soils. While the price of wheat remains as low as it 
is at present it is not likely to be largely grown at the South,, 
but with an increased demand and a better price. Southern 
farmers will surely turn their attention to this crop. And if 
it can be shown that with proper culture it will then pay tO' 
sow wheat at the South, a great point will have been gained. 
We believe the South both can and should profitably pro- 
duce its own breadstuffs, and that then fine, well equipped 
flour mills would pay as well here as in any other part of the 
country. We trust this is not a wild and visionary statement^ 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 



45 



Let us see what has been done on some of our poorer soils, 
and from this we can judge what can be done on good land, 

COWPEAS AS A MANORIAL CROP FOR WHEAT. 

The value of the cowpea turned under as a fertilizer on 
wheat lands has been a matter of experiment at our Agri- 




cultural Experiment Stations, and the results have been so 
marked and valuable we reproduce one of them here, namely 
that of the Fayetteville, (Ark.), Station, on nine plots of 
wheat grown the season of 1893-94, on worn, sandy cotton 
lands, at the sub-station near Newport, Ark. 

The engraving above, which was kindly loaned us by 
Professor Bennett, shows 100 heads of average wheat taken 



46 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

from each of the nine plots. The table of yields, etc., is 
taken from the station bulletin, 

A crop of cowpeas plowed under is shown by this table 
to have raised the yield from 5 bushels, to 16 bushels 55 
pounds, and in another case from 5 bushels to 18 bushels 
10}^ pounds. 

MANURE EXPERIMENTS WITH WHEAT ON SANDY 

SOIL. 

The number of each sample in the cut is the number of 
the plot upon which the sample grew, 

TABLE OF YIELDS, 1893-94. 



Plot 

No, 



Method of Treatment, 



Yield in Bushels, 
per Acre. 



Wheat Grew on Plots j to 7, iSg2-gj. 

Wheat following wheat to ascertain the residual effect 
of 40 bu, cotton seed applied per acre, 1892-93 

Nothing 

10 wagon loads horse manure per acre 

150 lbs. acid phosphate 

150 lbs, kainit 

200 lbs. gypsum , 

Peas planted July 31, turned under green Oct. 10 



Wheat on Plots 8 to ir, i8gi-g2, Cowpeas 
Spring i8gj. 

Pea roots 

Pea vines with pods on vines 

Pea vines with pods off vines 

Green pea vines with pods on vines — turned under 
green July 31 



5 bu. 46 lbs. 

5 bu. 

15 bu. 16^ lbs. 

6 bu. 28>^ lbs. 

6 bu, 9^ lbs. 

7 bu. 53 lbs. 

16 bu. 53 lbs. 



10 bu, 28 lbs. 
18 bu. io>^ lbs. 
15 bu, 30)2 lbs. 



14 bu. 



lbs. 



The Experiment Station bulletin says in regard to these 



tests 



"Wheat on all pea plots and on stable manure plots, 
tillered more than the commercial fertilizer plots and other 
plots. The increased yield in grain is due mainly to that, 
and not to any increased length of heads. The pea and 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 47 

Stable manured plots appeared to have tillered more than 
twice as much as the others did." 

It is worthy of note that on plot No. 8 the pea roots 
alo7ie (the stubble, after pea vines and peas had all been 
removed) increased the yield lOO per cent, whj.le on plot lo 
the pea vines, with pods picked off the vines, increased the 
yield over 200 per cent. The possibilities of wheat culture 
at the South stand out strongly in the light of these experi- 
ments. A good rotation of crops might be outlined as 
follows : 

First, land well broken and planted to Irish potatoes in 
February; these dug middle of May and followed by a crop 
of cowpeas, plowed under in August or September. The 
land then sowed to wheat, and when this is ripe the next 
spring, plant again to cowpeas. Mow these for hay and 
either sow again to wheat or seed to crimson clover. Com- 
binations and rotations of crops similar to these will readily 
suggest themselves to our readers. The main point to be 
observed is to precede wheat with cowpeas, clover, or some 
other crop rich in nitrogen, which is plowed under, and so 
the fertility of the soil is maintained and in fact augmented. 

It is found that where cowpea vines are plowed under 
as a fertilizer, either for wheat or other crops, by far the 
preferable plan is to let them get thoroughly ripe, then cut 
them and, if you have time, let them lie a few weeks on the 
ground, then plow them under. 

Green vines plowed under set up too great a fermenta- 
tion, and a good part of the nitrogen in the form of ammonia 
is passed off into the air or leached out and lost before the 
constituent parts of the vines are so decomposed as to be 
ready to be taken up by the crop you desire to benefit. 



48 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Balletin No. 26, of the Georgia Experiment Station says 
in regard to the manurial value of cowpeas: 

"Mowing the vines and permitting them to lie on the 
surface and plowing under in November, was decidedly better 
than turning the vines under in August. Turning the 
vines under green gave the poorest economical results." 

The bulletin prefaces this by saying : 

"The best disposition of a crop of cowpeas is to con- 
vert the vines into hay or ensilage. The next best, is to 
permit the peas to ripen and gather (or pasture them)." 

By this arrangement, it is of course understood that all 
the droppings from the stock eating this food, either as hay, 
ensilage, or in the pasture, are returned to the soil. 

The bulletin referred to, says of the varieties of cowpeas 
to be planted : 

"The earliest cowpea, and hence the variety best 
adapted to high latitudes, is the 7iew era ; this matures in 
a little more than sixty days from time of planting. Other 
very early varieties are congo, white giant, chocolate and 
vacinun. 

"The heaviest yielder of vines is red ripper, followed 
by forage or sJiinny , black and unknown. 

"The heaviest producers of peas are unknown , calico, 
clay and white-brown-hull . 

"For hay, the erect varieties are preferable to those of a 
recumbent habit, since the mower cuts them all. The best of 
the erect varieties are the unknown, clay and whippoorwill. 

"T\\e best table peas are sugar-crowder , white-crowder^ 
mush, large and small lady , and rice. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 49 

"The best stock pea for field grazing of either cattle or 
hogs is the black. It will remain in ground all winter with- 
out injury. Everlasting, red and red ripper are also good. 

"For an 'all purpose' pea, the 2inknow7i leads the list. 
clay, however, closely contests first place." 

A FEW WORDS ABOUT DEEP OR SHALLOW PLOWING. 

We deem it to be our duty to emphasize with all our 
strength the desirability of deep plowing, and so take it up 
here under a special head. 

But right here comes an experienced farmer living in 
Maryland who writes as follows : 

"A gentleman who moved into my neighborhood a 
number of years since, conceived the idea that he could 
render his land at once productive by simply plowing it 
deep; put four powerful horses to his plow, and turned it up 
to the depth of 12 inches; the result was a total failure; 
and after experimenting with it for a year or two, he endeav- 
ored to correct his mistake by turning it back again to the 
same depth, but in vain ; the trifle of fertility that the surface 
possessed previous to the experiment had been buried too 
deep, and become incorporated with so large a mass of 
sterile clay as to render it inoperative. Neither will it, from 
my experience, answer to cross or stir the land, fallowed for 
wheat, more than from 3 to 4 inches; but let tJiat be done 
thoroughly. I once almost entirely failed in making a crop 
by cross plowing a field as deep as it had been fallowed, and 
stirring until it was as light as it could well be made before 
sowing it down in wheat. The winter's frost or something 
else destroyed it, and instead of obtaining from 15 to 20 

P4 



50 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

bushels per acre, which It was capable of producing, I reaped 
but little more than I had sown. This to me was doubly- 
mortifying as a portion of it was sown with beautiful white 
flint wheat, procured from western New York, at an expense 
of $3 a bushel by the time it reached me." 

Having thus given the shallow plower full hearing, and 
there are doubtless many others whose observation and ex- 
perience will parallel that of this gentleman, we may ask 
what was the trouble in the above recited cases. 

First, as to the man who plowed his land 12 inches 
deep. What course should he have pursued? Evidently the 
first thing to have secured was an increased bulk of plant 
food, nitrogen, potash, phosphorus, lime and humus in the 
proportions the soil was deficient of these articles. These 
can all be secured by a few crops of cowpeas plowed under. 
Then when the soil is well replenished by this means, deep 
plowing will be just the thing needed, for let it be remem- 
bered the roots of cowpeas make the soil open and friable 
thus giving it a mechanical advantage as well as the chemical 
advantages the plant yields. 

When it is remembered that the gain from crops of cow- 
peas cut at different stages of their growth, run as follows: 
Nitrogen, 48.4 to 61.7 pounds per acre; phosphoric acid, 
7.9 to 13 .0 pounds per acre ; potash, 3.1 to 42. i pounds per 
acre, it will readily be seen how rich in plant food this 
source is. Added to this is the very valuable humus going 
into the soil from the decomposition of the leaves, stalks, 
pods, and roots of the plants. 

The first thing to do we repeat, with poor land, is to 
enrich it. If you have, or will save and store up, manure, 
as advised in the article herein on manures, haul that out on 



AND FRUIT RAISER S GUIDE. 



51 



the land, not putting it on too thin ; an acre well manured is 
worth five sparsely manured, you will then have taken the 
first step, and following this up with cowpeas, crimson or 
red clover, the Southern farmer will soon find his land in 
excellent condition, and can plow 8, lo or 12 inches deep, 
and raise 100 to 200, or even 300, per cent greater crops 
than the land has yielded "since the woods were burned." 

The other man's land was not very rich in humus, we 
infer, and as the gentleman says nothing about rolling the 
land after seeding, we conclude he did not use a roller, and 
the soil being so very finely pulverized, the wheat, if it started 
at all, burnt out. He probably got no stand. If his land 
had been richer, by the application of either animal or vege- 
table manures, it would have held moisture better and a 
better stand, growth, tillering and yield would have been 

secured. 

CORN. 

This grain succeeds well in nearly all parts of the South. 

The crop of 1889 as approximately given by the late census,, 

being: 

Tennessee 80,000,000 bushels. 

Kentucky 68, 000,000 

Texas 60,000,000 

Georgia 30,000,000 

North Carolina 36,000,000 

Arkansas .! 42,000,000 

Mississippi 25,000,000 

South Carolina 18,000,000 

Louisiana 15,000,000 

Virginia .....27,000,000 

Alabama 30,073,036 

Maryland 13,770,417 

West Virginia 13,730,506 

The methods of planting and working corn at the South 
are substantially the same as in other parts of the country. 



52 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

One point alone needs to be emphasized, and that is, that 
here but from one to two stalks should be grown in a hill, 
one being the preferable number. Better results (more corn 
to the acre) can be obtained in the South by allowing but 
one or at the utmost two stalks to grow in a hill than with 
more, and this is true even where the ground is naturally of 
the very richest character, or has been made rich by the use 
of manures. As thick a stand as is grown at the North will 
not succeed here. We cannot explain this; we only state it 
as a well ascertained fact, substantiated by the observation 
and experience of all. Thick planting of corn at the South 
means no crop at all, or a very meagre one. 

Many prefer to plant in drills, and this doubtless is a 
good plan, although it may take a little more hand work 
than if it were in hills. By this plan the drills should be 4 
feet apart, and the corn chopped or pulled out to stand 2 to 
2^ feet apart in the rows. Nowhere does this crop respond 
more readily to the generous use of manures than at the 
South, and here severe droughts are rarely experienced, and 
a crop, especially if planted early, is with good working 
almost a sure one. 

The one fundamental error the Southern farmer makes, 
is that often he does not break his ground deep enough 
before planting (see article on page 49). Plow deep and 
work shallow should be the motto of the farmer who would 
raise a good crop of corn ; and in fact this mode of culture 
is recommended for all kinds of worked crops, unless it may 
be cabbages, ground for which should be both broken and 
worked deeply. Another error resulting in many a poor 
field of corn is the almost universal practice at the South of 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 53 

planting the same ground in cotton or corn for a long suc- 
cession of years, without other rotation of crops. 

A much better plan, that would not be found to exhaust 
the soil, would be a rotation of crops about like that recom- 
mended for wheat, say to plant the field the third year to 
Irish potatoes in February, and follow this with a crop of 
cowpeas in early part of June when the potatoes would be 
ripe and harvested. The peas, if the land is at all poor, 
should be plowed under in September and weeds and crab 
grass again plowed under at the first frost, and another crop 
of cowpeas put in in the spring followed by a crop of late 
Irish potatoes planted the first of August. 

Then the next spring the land would be in good condi- 
tion to be broken deeply and put into corn again, or into 
cotton, if the farmer prefers that crop. 

The programme given can be varied by putting the land 
into red clover, or sowing to crimson clover, or millet. The 
point is, not to run it continually in corn or cotton or both, 
but to enrich the land occasionally with green crops plowed 
under, especially of the leguminous varieties, such as cow- 
peas or some plant of the clover family, 

SELECTION AND CARE OF SEED CORN. 

All experienced farmers are aware that the productive- 
ness and early ripening of any kind of corn, depend very 
much on the manner of selecting the seed. Although other 
crops may be benefited by a change of seed, there is no 
need of changing seed corn, provided proper attention is 
given in selecting that used for planting. By giving the 
matter the attention it requires, a variety may be perfected 
so as to yield much more to the acre, and ripen at least ten 



54 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

days earlier than at first. As soon as the earlier ears are 
thoroughly glazed, go over the field and select the seed from 
those stalks that are the largest and most thrifty, and that 
have two good ears. As soon as selected, braid and hang 
up in some dry, airy place where it can dry before cold 
weather. The reason we hear so much complaint of corn 
not coming up is generally this: the seed is selected from the 
crib where it was deposited in a wet state, and did not dry 
before frost came. It was frozen, and of course could not 
germinate. The farmer should never wait until the corn is in 
the crib or perhaps until he wants to plant, before selecting 
his seed, but should gather it in the field as it hangs upon 
the stalk, he can then see just which is earliest and best. 

LEVEL CULTURE FOR CORN. 

Plow well, at least 8 inches deep, and harrow thoroughly 
before planting. Mark both ways with shovel-plow, 5 feet 
one way, and 4 the other ; wide way north and south when 
planting in hills. This lets in the sun. Some may prefer to 
put the hills nearer together, say 4 feet by 4 feet. Then plant 
in the furrows at the intersections of the markings. By plant- 
ing in the furrows the corn will not need hilling. Leave 
the surface of your field level, that the roots may run deep 
into the earth, and the stalk will not break off when swayed 
back and forth by the wind. At the bottom of every stalk 
may be seen numerous brace roots, or feelers, which strike 
out into the earth to hold it fast. But, if the earth be cobbled 
up in hills, around the corn, it robs the fine fibrous roots of 
their proper nourishment, and the crop is injured thereby. 

Dry weather has much less influence on a level surface, 
than if hilled. A level surface imbibes the rain uniformly, 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 55 

diffuses it equally and secures it beneath the surface for the 
general benefit of that webwork of roots which fills the entire 
ground below. As soon as you can see the rows, start a 
horse and cultivator. This will keep down all weeds and is 
all that is necessary to produce a good crop ; yet it may be 
well to go through once with a hoe. 

UPLAND RICE. 

We do not take up the subject of lowland or irrigated 
rice, because the area suited to the production of this grain 
is limited, while upland rice can be successfully and profitably 
grown all through the middle South. The average yield is 
greater than that of wheat, the price higher, and the labor in 
raising and harvesting no greater. 

Upland rice is in every respect as good as lowland and 
sells for the same price. A 40-acre field yielding as an 
average crop 40 bushels per acre, if sold at $1.25 per bushel 
would bring $2,000, and the rice hay, for the plant is cut 
while the stalk is still green and makes excellent hay, would 
yield 60 tons, worth $7 per ton or $420, or a total of $2,420 
from 40 acres, besides the aftermath or second crop growth 
from the roots, which furnishes excellent pasturage until frost. 
Rice should be sown in April and is ripe and ready to mow 
in July. After it is cut, leave it on the ground until it is 
cured, then tie in bundles and stack for a few weeks until 
it goes through a sweat and whitens and hardens the grain. 

The following article on Upland Rice Culture has been 
kindly prepared for us by Mr. J. H. Alexander, of Georgia, 
who has had a good deal of experience in growing this grain: 

"The culture of rice upon uplands is growing in pop- 
ular favor. Anyone who tries it upon a small scale at first, 



56 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

finds the crop both reliable and productive. The value of it 
lies in the grain, which is staple, and always saleable, or if it 
is not convenient to clean and market the grain, the whole 
stalk cut, cured and fed to stock, constitutes one of the best 
forage crops to be had. 

"Any good land that will make a bale of cotton, or 
25 bushels of corn, will produce rice, whether it be light lands 
or clay. But a purely sandy soil would not be favorable to 
it. Any good loam or clay soil may be easily manured in 
the drill to produce rice profitably. The preparation of the 
land should be thorough. It must not be cloddy, or rough, 
or caked, for on such land it will be hard to get a good stand. 

" The rows should be 2 to 3 feet apart. If the land is 
disposed to be weedy, grassy, or rough, take more room to 
allow thorough cultivation. In finely prepared, clean land 
2 feet is enough to admit sufficient cultivation. The seed 
may be dropped ten or a dozen in a place every foot, or it 
may be lightly drilled. I prefer to drop it, as it admits 
easier cultivation. It is to be planted here in April, after all 
danger of frost is passed. 

"The plant is small and tender in its earliest stage, and 
requires nice, careful attention until it gets started. Its 
growth then is vigorous. It wants to be plowed and hoed 
about as. corn is cultivated. No grass must be allowed in the 
middles or in the rows. It needs to be kept very clean. 

"If the conditions favor, the heads will be full and 
heavy. This crop is a very pretty one to see, very pleasing 
to the eye. The yield in grain appears to be about double 
what it would be in corn, on the same land. I think any land 
that will make 25 bushels of corn will make 50 bushels of rice. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 57 

" I have no machine to clean it, and have never tried to 
clean or sell the grain. I have used it all for forage. It is 
nutritious and healthful, greedily eaten, and if cured, or even 
wilted before feeding, I am sure there is no danger in it. 
Stock that is fed on rice needs no corn. I decidedly recom- 
mend the trial of it by every farmer. There is no need to 
venture much or take chances of loss. Try a half acre to start 
on and see what success you meet with. If your conditions 
suit it, enlarge the crop. Until you can afford a thresher to 
get out the grain, I suppose it would be best to sell it in the 
rough, for there is no domestic mill adapted to hull the grain. 
The rice planters along the coast, I think, usually sell it in the 
rough to the rice mills in the larger cities. 

" I have found rice on my upland quite a pleasing addi- 
tion to the list of forage crops, and will continue to use it for 
that purpose. I may add also that it is admirable poultry 
feed, very fattening and productive of eggs. 

" I think seedsmen generally can furnish the seed. There 

is a small grain, known as Japan rice, and a larger, finer grain, 

known as Carolina white rice, either of which does well for 

the purpose I use it for. For market, as a staple crop, the 

latter would probably be preferable. Choice seed usually cost 

$1.75 to $2.25 per bushel. Eight to twelve quarts will plant 

an acre." 

BARLEY. 

Barley succeeds admirably on most of our Southern 
soils, in fact better than corn on some of our uplands, yet it 
has never become a popular crop here; in fact it has not 
been experimented with or had the attention paid to it which 
it deserves, this being probably due to the irritating spines 



58 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

which the mature grain of the bearded variety, the kind 
usually grown, bears. 

There is, however, a beardless variety known botanically 
as Hordeui7i trifurcatum, which might take the place of the 
bearded species. 

In California, and in all Spanish countries and depend- 
encies, as also in Germany, barley is one of the leading 
crops both for malting and as a stock food and breadstuff. 

A strong, clay loam soil well drained, is best for barley; 
warm, generous land, not cold, damp or mucky. 

A six-rowed ivinter variety is grown in some sections of 
the United States, and would doubtless succeed well in the 
South, the same as winter wheat does. 

TIME OF SOWING— AMOUNT OF SEED. 

The ordinary .spring grown variety should be sown as 
early as the season will allow of adequate preparation. The 
crop stands about three months on the ground, and it is im- 
portant that it gets a fair start before the hottest summer 
weather comes on. Few successful crops are sown later 
than April i , and one advantage of fall plowing our corn 
stubbles is that it facilitates the early sowing of the barley 
crop following in rotation. 

The amount of seed usually given to an acre, varies from 
2 to 3^ bushels; early sown and mellow soils requiring 
leafst. If drilled in also, a less quantity is required; and 
rolling when the young plants are a few inches in height, if 
the ground is dry and porous, is said to be serviceable in 
giving support to the roots, causing the plants to tiller and 
increasing their vigor. We question the utility of sowing 
over 2^ bushels per acre, though some of the best crops 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 59 

reported have received 3 and 35^ bushels. Others, how- 
ever, equally as good, have been produced from 2 bushels' 
seeding. On rich lands the tillering of the plants will be 
much heavier than on poor soil, and less seed will be 
required. 

HARVESTING— VALUE OF THE STRAW. 

In harvesting barley it is important to cut it at the right 
stage, when neither too green nor too ripe. If rather green 
the grain shrinks, and is of lightweight — if fully ripe it shells 
easily and the straw is of less value. It is said that when the 
head begins to assume a reddish cast and drops down upon 
the straw, the proper period of harvesting has arrived — and, 
as after this the grain matures rapidly, it should at once be 
cared for. It may be mown or cradled, or cut with a reaper 
— if the straw is long it should be bound, though with proper 
forks for loading, it may be pitched from the swath without 
this additional labor. It need not stand long in the field, 
yet care should be taken that it is properly dry before storing 
in large mows, as it is more easily injured by heating than 
any other grain. 

Barley straw, well cured, and not over ripe, is readily 
eaten by all kinds of stock. It is worth more for fodder than 
wheat straw, and is equal, perhaps, to corn stalks or inferior 
hay. The chaff is much liked notwithstanding the strong 
beards with which it is filled. 

USES— STOCK FEED, ETC. 

The greatest use made of barley is in the production of 
fermented liquors, but this grain affords an excellent feed 
for horses, and is equal to corn for fattening cattle and swine. 
For the latter purpose it should be cooked, or soaked in the 



60 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

grain, or the meal may be wet and allowed to commence 

fermentation before using. This grain, when boiled, has long 

been employed in Europe as horse food, especially after a 

hard day's work or during illness. When fed to horses in a 

half malted state, it is said to be perfectly harmless, however 

heated they maybe, or whatever quantity they may eat. To 

prepare it, soak it in water from twelve to twenty-four hours 

in the usual way. 

OATS. 

The oat is an excellent fodder plant at the South, grow- 
ing as it does admirably from Virginia around to Texas and 
from Kentucky to the Southern borders of Georgia. It also 
does well when grown in connection with other plants as 
forage, both for use as a soiling crop (cut and fed green) or 
to be cured as hay. 

We recommend a very early sowing for oats when sown 
by themselves, and with this in view it is best that the ground 
be plowed deeply the preceding fall, or during the winter, 
when the soil is in good workable condition. Then in the 
spring, just as soon as the land is dry enough, scarify it well 
with the harrow or run a small toothed cultivator over it and 
sow or drill in the seed. From 2^ to 3 bushels of oats per 
acre are usually sown, and the yield runs from 30 to 100 
bushels per acre. 

A winter variety known as the winter turf oat, has been 
tried extensively and has succeeded well. It is a vigorous 
grower, standing from 3^ to 4 feet high, tillers heavily, a 
single seed often producing from ten to twenty stalks, each 
topped by a plump, well filled head. A variety well known 
at the South is the red rust-proof. Other good varieties, 
some being of a more leafy habit and for this reason more 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 61 

valuable when cut as hay, are the Lincoln oat, the black 
mammoth cluster and the black and white Russian. 

OATS AS A COMBINED CROP. 

Oats and Wheat. — These grown together furnish excel- 
lent fodder, and a much heavier growth is obtained than from 
either sown separately. The seed should be mixed thor- 
oughly before being sown, equal quantities of each being 
used. Some light pasturing may be done on this crop, but 
its value is principally in the fodder made from it by cutting 
and curing when in the milk stage, for the heads should 
never be allowed to ripen when it is to be cut and cured as 
fodder. It can be mowed and handled like hay, or reaped 
and bound like wheat or oats alone. This crop is also 
useful when cut and fed green from day to day during the 
growing season. 

Oats and barley sown together furnish a splendid pasture 
for sheep and pigs. Stock should be turned in just as soon 
as they are grown so as to cover the ground, as when the 
grain begins to head it is not relished so well. The yield 
of forage will be found to be much heavier when these two 
plants are grown together than when sown separately. From 
2 to 3 bushels of the mixed seed are required for an acre. 

OATS AND COWPEAS. 

At the North a mixture of oats with the ordinary English 
field peas has proven very valuable and satisfactory ; here 
the better mixture is oats and cowpeas in the proportion of i 
bushel of peas to i ^ bushels of oats. If the peas are sown 
first they should be pretty deeply covered, followed by the 
oats at a less depth; but the better plan is to drill them in 



62 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

together, covering them well, and a good crop can almost 
invariably be secured. If crab grass chances to grow among 
the peas and oats, so much the better, all are sweet and 
nutritious and will make excellent hay. 

This crop is not an exhaustive one to the land, although 
a great tonnage of feed is produced, the soil being positively 
improved and fed by the nitrogen drawn from the atmosphere 
by the cowpeas, and stored in their roots, while the stubble 
of the oats plowed under returns to the soil a good portion 
of potash and the phosphates. 

There is another feature which makes these combined 
fodder crops desirable, and that is, that as a ration for stock 
they are found to be much more appetizing than either one 
alone. Stock relish and thrive upon this combined hay, 
having almost if not the full alimentary value of a grain, 
ration, wonderfully. • 

Experiments should be made in our different Southern 
climates, and on our varied soils, on our seaboard plains^ 
prairies, rolling uplands, alluvial bottoms and mountain table- 
lands, of these combined fodder and forage crops, such as 
cowpeas and crab grass; Bermuda grass and red clover; 
clover and Timothy ; clover, Timothy and orchard grass ; 
oats and cowpeas ; oats and wheat ; oats and barley ; winter 
oats and winter rye, etc. , so that the combination best adapted 
to each particular district may be ascertained, What is best 
for the red clay hills of upper Georgia may not be quite as 
good as some other combined fodder crop for the dark, fat, 
unctious lands of Louisiana. 

It will cost but little for any farmer to make a test, to 
plant a few acres of either of these combined crops, and note 
the results. It is certain that the Southern farmer should get 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 63 

away, as soon as possible, from the idea that corn is the only 
fodder plant, and cotton the only money crop at the South, 
and that the only way to save fodder is to ///// it in the old- 
fashioned way, when a hundred times as much and as good, if 
not better fodder, can be had with less work and with less drain 
upon the soil, by sowing and curing these combined hay 
crops. There is another point in favor of raising these smaller 
grains as fodder plants, and that is, that they are grown, cut 
and stored away long before a corn crop can be made; long 
before dry spells come on that may blast and spoil a corn 
crop. 

Another point not to be forgotten in favor of raising 
small, strawy grains as fodder plants, in the place of corn, 
is the bedding they furnish for stock, when the animals are 
kept under sheds at night. 

We take up' this question under the head of Manures, 
on another page, but as the subject is of great importance, 
it will do no harm to say here, that the object is not that the 
animals may have a comfortable bed, although this is not 
without its importance, but that a mat may be furnished which 
will bind the manure together, making it easy to be handled, 
while it also absorbs the urine and so conserves the ammonia. 

Never burn wheat, barley or oat straw, it is of great 
value; save it and bed your stock with it. Twenty head of 
stock kept up at night in small pens or sheds, and heavily 
bedded with straw, the manure and tramped straw being forked 
out every morning into piles, will, even in one of our short 
Southern winters, produce from 300 to 500 wagon loads of 
most excellent fertilizing matter. 



64 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

BUCKWHEAT 

Is successfully raised at the South, and is found to be one 
of the best crops to put on land infested with foul weeds 
or grasses, to kill them out. It has been tested for this pur- 
pose by some of our Agricultural Experiment Stations, and 
is found to succeed admirably, exterminating even Bermuda 
grass (which, next to coco is perhaps the most difificult grass 
to kill). 

Sow buckwheat from the first to the middle of May, i 
bushel to the acre. It will grow on almost any good upland, 
or even low, rich land, which being undrained, may be too 
wet to plow and plant in the spring. Such lowlands, when 
they have dried out in the summer, can be profitably sown to 
buckwheat. The Japanese variety is said to be much su- 
perior to the old sort. 

BUCKWHEAT AS A MANURE. 
The roots of this plant penetrate deeply into the soil, tend- 
ing to pulverize it and make it lighter; growing readily on 
land too poor to grow clover, and growing rapidly, being 
ready to plow under in six or eight weeks, this plant has 
often been used to renovate exhausted soils. The copious 
foliage, and easy decomposition of the stalk, together with its 
depth and extent of roots, and the source whence it derives 
the greater portion of its supplies, render buckwheat peculi- 
arly favorable for a manurial crop. Three crops may be 
plowed under in a single season, and a single crop equals in 
effect a dressing of manure applied at considerably greater 
cost. Buckwheat is specially rich in phosphoric acid and in 
potash. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. C5 

HARVESTING. 

Though the blossoms continually forming will produce 
grain as late as the season will allow, that first ripened is 
heaviest and most valuable. It should be cut, perhaps, as 
soon as the lower leaves begin to die, and with the cradle or 
harvester, if possible. If a frost should occur and any portion 
of the grain be ripe, it is best to harvest at once. After cut- 
ting, the swaths are raked into small bunches, and set upright 
with the heads twisted together — leaving each bundle to 
stand alone, the butts spread and resting upon the ground. 
Rain injures it but little if thus treated, and it may stand sev- 
eral we;eks, or until thoroughly cured. 

Buckwheat shells very easily, and much waste often 
occurs before the crop is secured. Care in handling and the 
use of tight bottom-boards for the wagon upon which it is 
drawn to the barn, will prevent this loss to a considerable ex- 
tent. In case some other grain which would be injured by 
the mixture, is to follow this crop, some means must be used 
to extirpate it from the soil. Pigs will consume much of 
that lying on the surface, and lightly harrowing will cause the 
remnant to vegetate, and the first frost will destroy the young 
plants. 

The action of the growing of buckwheat on different 

soils is as varied as these soils may be ; on some the effect is to 

build it up and enrich it, and on others it takes from the soil 

the elements required by other cereals, such as corn or wheat, 

so that good crops of these cannot be grown there succeeding 

it, while in other localities they follow it admirably. There 

is no doubt but that buckwheat is a rank feeder, as its growth 

is heavy and dense, and when plowed under as a fertilizer it 
Ps 



66 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

has proved to be of great value. But where harvested for 
the grain, its effects are doubtless exhausting, and the roots 
and stubble are nothing near so valuable in furnishing nitro- 
gen and other fertilizing properties to the soil, as our South- 
ern cowpea. 

YIELD AND PROFIT OF THE CROP. 

Though buckwheat will grow without manure, it feels 
the application as quick as any other plant, and a correspond- 
ing increase in growth is produced. Plaster and ashes exert 
an immediate influence and benefit. 

In repeated statements of the usual average product, we 
find 20 bushels per acre the lowest, and 30 the highest esti- 
mate. The culture is not expensive, the time occupied only 
about ten weeks, and any surplus is readily marketable at fair 
prices, the average being $1 per bushel. 

As a honey plant for bees, buckwheat stands at the 
head of the list, and as a chicken food and egg producer it is 
said to be excellent. 

TEOSINTE. 

This new fodder plant certainly deserves the attention 
and investigation of Southern farmers. It is said to be of 
Central American origin, but has been tried and found very 
successful in Egypt and other oriental countries, where, on 
rich soils, yields of vast magnitude have been reported. 
On such lands as our best Southern sugar and cane lands 
it attains a height of from 11 to 12 feet, and eighty-five stalks 
are reported to have grown from one seed. From this it 
will be seen that it is of a branching habit and has great 
vigor of growth. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 67 

Upon a trial of this plant made at the Agricultural 
Experiment Station at Newport, Ark., on unmanured, sandy 
soil, a yield at one cutting of over 2>H ^^^^ °^ ^^V ^fodder 
per acre was obtained. 

At the same place and on the same kind of soil, oats cut 
as hay yielded i ton per acre, which was followed by a 
crop of cowpeas on the same ground that season, yielding a 
little over i}( tons (2,600 pounds) of dry hay, or of peas 
and oats 4,600 pounds, a little over 2}{ tons of hay, as 
compared with 3^ tons of the teosinte hay, all being grown 
alike, without manure or other fertilizers. It is recommended 
to plant in rows 3 feet apart, and 12 inches apart in the drills, 
but this may be found too close on rich soils. 

The Rural New Yorker of October 5, 1895, says of 
teosinte : 

" The plants have made a wonderful growth. The seed 
was planted in mid-May. July 8 the plants were 3 feet high, 
with an average of nine stems, small and large, to a seed. Sev- 
eral plants were cut back to the ground. July 29 the plants 
were 4 feet tall, with an average of 12 stems to the seed, 
about the size of sweet corn of the same age. The cut back 
plants were 2 feet high. Cutting back the stalk does not seem 
to check the growth at all. August 19 the stalks were 6 feet 
high — the cut back plants 5 feet. The stalks were all tender. 
The longest leaves were 4 feet and in width 2)^ inches. The 
joints grow so close together that the plants are one mass of 
leaves. The stems were still small and succulent. We found 
the number of stems of one plant to be 17, of another 26. 
On September 2 the plants not cut back were 7 feet high, a 
mass of leaves, 3 to 4 feet long, and 2 or 3 inches wide; 
those cut back were 5 feet high. On September 17 the plants 



68 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

were 9 feet high, the cut back plants 7 to 8. Still the stalks 
were quite tender and succulent; the leaves 3 to 4 feet long. 
There were no hard, tough, woody stalks, as we find in the 
corn plant at and before maturity. Again, the plants do not 
lose their lower leaves; they remain as green as those above, 

"Except that it bears no grain in this climate, it would 
seem that teosinte should prove more valuable as a fodder 
plant than any kind of corn." 

Teosinte will undoubtedly mature its seed in the extreme 
southern part of the Gulf States, and should be grown there 
for that purpose, and it should certainly be given a full trial 
in all parts of the South as a fodder plant. A source of 
supply of 33^ tons to the acre at one cutting and doubtless 
of at least 5 tons at two cuttings, of dry fodder, sweet and 
nutritious, raised on light sandy and unmanured land, ought 
not to be overlooked and passed by without full trial even if 
the seed has to be bought every year. . 

The juice of teosinte is said to be rich in saccharine 
matter, and it is therefore very nutritious and fattening to 
stock, which are very fond of it. 

The testimony of many farmers who have tried it in 
different parts of the country was put on record last year 
(1895) and was universally favorable, some reporting a yield 
on good soil of 100 tons of green, or 10 tons of excellent dry 
fodder per acre. It requires similar cultivation to corn. 
If put in drills, plant 3 feet apart, and two or three seeds 
every 12 inches in the drill. Four pounds of seed will plant 
an acre in this manner, or 3 pounds, if planted in hills, 
costing now 15 cents per ounce, $1.50 per pound. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 69 

NON-SACCHARINE SORGHUMS. 

The most noted of these are Kaffir corn, Jerusalem corn 
and Dhoura (or Millo maize) . These bear dry weather 
well, and where corn will fir^ up and wholly fail for want of 
seasonable rains, these grains simply suspend operations, live 
on, wait for the rain, and when it comes go right on and 
perfect their full growth and yield. They should be tried in 
all parts of the South more extensively than they have been, 
especially upon the sandy lands of Florida and in the dry 
regions of western Texas and Arizona. 

But it should not be taken for granted that because they 
are by the nature of their growth adapted to dry regions 
that they will not do well in the South generally, it may be 
proven that at least one or two of them are well suited to 
those parts of the South (embracing nearly the whole of it) 
which have a plentiful rainfall during the spring and summer 
months. 

These plants are said to yield more weight of grain per 
acre than the same land will in corn, and to give enormous 
returns of excellent dry fodder at a far less cost than that of 
gathering corn fodder in the old way. They are cultivated 
in precisely the same way with corn and should be planted 
on rich, deeply plowed ground. If the land is not naturally 
rich it should be made so by the use of manures. It is not 
expected these grains will supplant corn as breadstuffs, but 
in furnishing ample fodder and stock food they are well worth 
trial at the South, where our long summers and late falls give 
ample time for their growth and maturing. 



Part m. 

Truck Farming* 




^ 



(fc^ N this part, No. III., upon truck farm- 
ing, we shall make extensive quotations 
from a bulletin published by the North 
Carolina Agricultural Experiment Sta- 
tion, written by W. F. Massey, horti- 
culturist, of the faculty. We inclose 
these in quotation marks, and insert his 
initials, and it will be understood all mat- 
ter so marked is from his pen. His statements may not 
in all minor points coincide exactly with what we have 
said, or the experience of others, but are undoubtedly true 
of conditions in central and eastern North Carolina; and Mr. 
Massey's high reputation and long experience as a horti- 
culturist, give his remarks great value. 

PREPARATION OF LAND FOR TRUCKING. 

(W, F. M.) "There is no one point upon which our 
people more commonly err than in supposing that any piece 
of mellow land, suited for trucking, but not rich, can be made 
at once to produce a paying crop of vegetables of all kinds by 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 71 

the excessive use of fertilizers upon it. While such crops as 
the English peas may be produced on such land, the man who 
would undertake to grow a crop of early cabbage on it would 
be pretty certain to fail to get a paying crop. No matter 
how good the soil is for the ordinary farm crops, it will not 
be in condition to give the best results in garden vegetables 
until after several years of good culture and heavy fertilization. 
And while the commercial fertilizers contain all the elements 
of plant food that stable manure has, and in better propor- 
tion, the vegetable matters in the manure not only have a 
good mechanical effect on the land, but they keep up the for- 
mation of nitrates in the soil. The commercial fertilizer lacks 
this, and the lack must be supplied if we keep up the pro- 
ductiveness of the land. Decomposed vegetable matter from 
the forest will do this, but this is an expensive thing to col- 
lect and haul. The most rapid and economical way in which 
the vegetable matter can be gotten in the land is by the 
growth of some leguminous crop on the land. For this pur- 
pose there is no crop in this latitude equal to the Southern 
field or cowpea. This plant, in common with all the pea 
family, has the power of capturing the nitrogen from the air 
and fixing it into the soil for the succeeding crop. Its heavy 
growth above ground, the greater part of which, too, comes 
from the air, furnishes a larger amount of vegetable matter 
than would be gotten in the heaviest dressing of stable manure. 
"The field pea gives the Southern gardener a great ad- 
vantage over those in a Northern climate, because it can be 
grown after his early crops are shipped, as a preparation for 
his winter ones, and he can thus do as much in the way of 
supplying his soil with organic matter and nitrogen in one 
season as the other man can in two, and at the same time 



72 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

raise a valuable forage crop, for as the soil becomes well 
stored with vegetable matter we do not think that it is advis- 
able or economical to bury the whole growth. The growth 
of tops will be of more value for feeding stock, and by the 
careful saving of the manure he can return to the soil nearly 
as much of manurial value in a much more available condi- 
tion. The keeping of dairy cattle in connection with the 
market garden is thus made practicable and profitable. The 
manure thus made is also a great help in the saving of com- 
mercial fertilizers. On highly manured truck lands the growth 
of crab grass, which comes in naturally after the removal of 
crops late in summer, is another valuable aid in the feeding 
of stock. Wherever there is a ready sale for dairy products 
it will always pay to keep cows for the consumption of the 
forage that can be grown so heavily on these lands, and to 
use the utmost care in the saving of all the manure. 

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 

"While it is doubtless true that for most vegetable crops 
the manure of the stable and barnyard is the best possible, 
few gardeners, particularly Southern truck gardeners, are so 
situated as to be able to get all they need, and in some places 
it commands a price that makes it a less economical manure 
than the commercial fertilizers. Then, too, there are some 
crops that are actually better grown with commercial fertil- 
izers, as the Irish potato, for instance, in which the use of the 
manure of cattle is apt to encourage the growth of the fungus 
causing "scab." But, as suggested above, every truck 
grower should endeavor to make all the manure that he can 
by the profitable feeding of stock. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 73 

"When fertilizers are depended upon exclusively, the 
green manuring with the cowpea becomes of the utmost im- 
portance, and until the soil is well filled with humus, it will 
pay to plow them under. When a heavy growth of pea vines 
is to be plowed under, they should always be allowed to get 
their full growth and to die upon the land before plowing 
them down. They have then done all that they can for the 
soil, and in dying there is no loss of any appreciable fertil- 
izing value, since they part with the water only. There is 
then, too, no risk of dangerous fermentation, as when a heavy 
green growth is plowed under in hot weather. In using the 
manures from the stable or barnyard, the truck gardener 
needs to have them piled and reduced to a fine condition by 
slow fermentation. Coarse and fresh manure that a farmer 
can use on a grass sod profitably will not do for him. Thorough 
decomposition is essential to get the mass into a state in which 
it will give up its plant food most readily. Piling and com- 
posting, while seldom profitable for the grain farmer, is of 
importance to the gardener. Those who are so situated as 
to be able to get the sweepings from paved city streets can 
profitably use this material for composting with their stable 
manure, and the black mold from the forest can also be used 
to advantage. These materials should be put in thick layers 
with the manure in a broad and flat-topped pile, which should 
be chopped down perpendicularly, and thoroughly mixed by 
turning several times before using. The object is to keep up 
a slow fermentation and to check injurious heating, thus get- 
ting the pile into the condition of black moist mold, suitable 
for using in the hill or broadcast, as occasion may indicate." 

The market gardeners near Charleston, S. C, and prob- 
ably also those of the neighborhood of Norfolk, Va,, make 



74 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

great use of the rakings of the pine woods, the pine straw and 
other debris that falls upon the ground each year. The 
cheap negro labor in these localities enables them to take ad- 
vantage of this supply of fertilizing material which is hauled 
out of the woods, put in long beds and composted thoroughly 
with well decomposed stable manure. When thoroughly 
composted, this in connection with commercial fertilizers, is 
found to be eminently valuable. Such expenditures as this 
however, may not be found necessary upon the newer virgin 
lands of the Southwest. 

LIME AND ITS USES. 

(W. F. M.) "Lime is one of the essential elements of 
plant food which must be in the soil to enable any plant to 
grow. But for all the purposes of plant food many of our 
arable soils contain an almost inexhaustible supply. But 
lime has been found to have value in the soil aside from its 
use by the plants as food direct. The chief of these uses, 
in a soil well stored with decomposing vegetable matter, is 
in promoting the growth of the nitric organisms that change 
parts of this organic matter into nitrates, and thus make the 
nitrogen, or organic matter, available as food for plants. 
Lime also corrects injurious acidity in soils, aids in the break- 
ing up of insoluble compounds of potash, thus rendering that 
base available to complete the work of the nitric ferments, 
and also has an important mechanical effect in the soil, 
making a clay soil more mellow, and a sandy one more com- 
pact. On lands cultivated in trucking crops, and heavily fer- 
tilized, and with frequent green manure crops buried in it, an 
occasional liming has a very beneficial effect. This will be 
particularly noticeable on the cabbage crop. While shell 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 75 

marl will to some extent have the same action, the insoluble 
form of the lime, as it exists in the marl, renders' its action 
less marked and immediate than that of freshly water-slacked 
lime. 

Land Plaster, or Gypsum (Sulphate of Lime). — 
^'The action of plaster on any given soil can only be learned 
by trial. On sandy soils, near the coast, it is seldom so 
beneficial in its action as upon the clay soils of the interior. 
We have seen very decided benefit, on some soils, from the 
use of plaster as a top dressing on the crop of early 'snaps,' 
or string beans. It is also sometimes very efficient in pro- 
moting the growth of clover or peas. But as there are many 
soils on which plaster seems to have no effect whatever, 
nothing but experiment can determine its value on a given 

soil. 

COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 

"As we have stated, the three constituents of plant food 
that are most generally deficient in our old soils, are nitrogen, 
potash and phosphoric acid. In ordinary farm crops it is 
practicable, by the use of the leguminous crops, like clover 
and peas, to get a sufificient amount of nitrogen from the 
air, but this, while a valuable help, will not supply it in suf- 
ficient amount for immediate use for the purpose of growing 
the early vegetable crops of the Southern market gardener. 
For many of his crops an artificial combination of nitrogen, 
in a readily available form, is of the greatest importance. In 
the absence, then, of a plentiful supply of well rotted stable 
manure, he must resort to some commercial source of nitro- 
gen. While the nitrogen in commercial nitrate of soda is in 
the most readily available form, it is evanescent, and in 
practice it is found better to mix with it some more slowly 



76 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

available form, as in organic matters, like fish-scrap and 
cottonseecl meal, to keep up the supply through the season 
of growth. Of these we give the preference to the cotton- 
seed meal, since it is more accessible to all growers in the 
South. Cottonseed meal has the further advantage that it 
supplies also some potash and phosphoric acid. The commori 
source of this last is the phosphatic rock of North and South 
Carolina. This is changed into a soluble state by being 
dissolved in sulphuric acid, making what is commonly called 
'acid phosphate.' This is probably the cheapest form in 
which phosphoric acid can be had in the South. Potash 
exists in a very soluble form in hard-wood ashes, and the 
ashes of cottonseed hulls are particularly rich in it. Where 
these last can be had, they furnish the best possible shape 
for potash, but as they can seldom be bought by the gar- 
dener in sufficient quantity, he is compelled to resort to some 
other combination. The great source of potash now is found 
in the various potash salts mined in Germany, and imported 
here under the names of kainit, sylvinit and others. The 
crude forms of the salts are seldom available for the use of 
the market gardener, on account of the large proportion of 
common salt which they contain. This prevents the heavy 
application of the crude article, as we would thus get for 
most crops an injurious amount of the salt. The concen- 
trated forms of the muriate or sulphate of potash are the 
forms in which gardeners use the potash salts, except for 
asparagus, on which the kainit does as well. For most 
garden crops the muriate of potash will usually be found 
best. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 77 

MIXING CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS. 

"There are innumerable brands of mixed fertilizers 
offered by the men who make a business of preparing these 
in different proportions for various crops. But oftentimes it 
will be found easier and more economical to mix the ingre- 
dients, which can be purchased for this purpose, bearing in 
mind that the more concentrated form in which he can get 
these generally the cheaper, he will get the essential con- 
stituents, potash, phosphoric acid and ammonia (or nitrogen) . 
Most manufacturers of fertilizers give the percentage of 
nitrogen in a mixture as ammonia, as this custom has grown 
universal from early practices. Ammonia is a compound of 
nitrogen and hydrogen, which has the properties of an alka- 
line base, and unites with acids to form salts. The sulphate 
of ammonia and nitrate of soda are two of the most con- 
centrated forms in which we can get nitrogen, and are 
valuable forms for the truck gardener's use. One can readily 
ascertain the relative cost of the nitrogen, potash or phos- 
phoric acid in a fertilizing ingredient, by dividing the price of 
the ingredient in the market by the percentage of these it 
contains, and thus find in what shape it is cheapest. A 
highly concentrated form makes a great saving at times in 
freight and handling. 

" There are many advantages in mixing the constituents 
at home, as in that way particular ingredients can be used 
for special crops, or advantage be taken in using local 
supplies. The purity of these ingredients can also be ascer- 
tained, and their proportion in the mixture can be altered to 
secure any desired percentage. When buying the ingredients, 
they should always be purchased on a special guarantee. 



78 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

When mixing at home, the materials should be as dry and 
fine as possible, and should some be lumpy, as in the case 
of the potash salts or nitrate of soda, the lumps should be 
mashed before attempting to mix. A clean floor should be 
used for the mixing, and the ingredients, weighed out in 
the proper amounts, should be poured on top of each other 
in alternate layers. Two hands with hoes, on opposite sides 
of the heap, can mix the layers rapidly, at a cost not to 
exceed 50 cents per ton. When mixing a small quantity, a 
small wagon-body is very convenient to use. Where large 
quantities of fertilizers are used, and sufficient power can be 
had, it will pay the grower to provide the necessary ma- 
chinery for mixing the ingredients. 

SEED AND SEED SOWING. 
"There is no point in horticulture in which so great an 
improvement has been made in this country as in the quality 
of the seed offered for sale to the gardener. The art of seed 
sowing is better understood, and the requirements of our 
climate have been studied by practical men. The writer can 
well remember when dealers prided themselves on the fact 
that the seed they offered were 'English' seed, not know- 
ing that with many plants American grown seed are 
infinitely superior for use. In the days of the old 'Early 
York cabbage, we remember with how much of uncertainty 
the seeds were sown, not knowing whether any of them 
would make a solid head. And not until the 'Early Jersey 
Wakefield' cabbage was developed from the English Wake- 
field, by continuous selection in our climate, did growers 
fully realize that for certainty of crop it was necessary that 
cabbage seed for American use must be grown in America. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 79 

"The question of climate in relation to its production, 
has been more closely studied of late years, and no well 
informed gardener now supposes that all the seed he needs 
can be best grown in one climate. The fact that many sorts 
of garden seed are better for the production of the earliest 
crops when grown in high latitude, led to the notion that all 
seeds produced in a Northern latitude are necessarily superior 
to those grown in the South. There is no greater error in 
horticulture. There are many seeds that do not reach their 
best development, as crop producers, in any given locality, 
when they are grown far north or south of the latitude where 
they are to be sown. While the market gardener can seldom 
afford to grow his own seed, there are some which he can 
generally produce to advantage, if unable to get them from 
a reliable grower in his own latitude and elevation, for eleva- 
tion above the sea has the same effect on many crops as high 
latitude. In this class should be placed such seeds as those 
of Indian corn, egg plant, tomatoes, Lima beans, okra, 
cucumbers, melons and a few others. It is also a well 
established fact that the late fall grown crop of Irish potatoes 
produced in the South makes far better tubers for growing 
the early spring crop from than those produced in the 
Northern latitude, a fact that is rapidly revolutionizing the 
practice of gardeners, not only in the South but in the North 
as well. One of the chief reasons for the common failure to 
grow good crops of sweet corn for table use in the South 
has been the fact that our people so commonly get the 
Northern grown seed for planting. Indian corn, more than 
most other plants, fails to do its best far south or north of 
the place the seed is grown. Indian sweet corn, grown and 
carefully selected for seed in our latitude, will produce far 



80 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

better results here than any seed we can get from the North. 
Garden peas, snap beans, and some other seed, we had 
always better have of Northern growth. The radish seed 
sold by our best seedsmen are produced in France, experience 
having proved that they can be better grown there than here. 
But there is one point in regard to seed that is not sufifi- 
ciently understood by our gardeners generally. This is what 
we may call 'pedigree.' Thoroughbred seeds are of as much 
importance to the gardener as thoroughbred horses are to 
the race course. It takes a long course of skillful culture to 
establish a 'race' in plants that will with certainty reproduce 
itself. There is a constant tendency in all plants to revert 
to an original, and, generally, an inferior type. Hence the 
necessity for skill and care on the part of the seed grower. 
Experienced planters understand this so well that they are 
more concerned about the strain from which their seeds come 
than about the relative percentage of vitality, though both 
are of importance. No class of business men are so minutely 
careful as our well known seedsmen to guard the purity and 
vitality of the stock they offer. The sharp competition be- 
tween them to get and keep the best strains of the various 
garden seeds, and to retain the trade that they could only 
have acquired by such care, is the best guaranty that the 
gardener can have. The dealer who gets and keeps the 
trade of a large number of market gardeners around him, 
must of necessity sell a good article. Experienced gardeners 
will often be found buying a certain strain of common vege- 
table from a certain stock, and from no other, though they 
may possess the same vitality, because they know the value 
of pedigree. All the little Extra Early garden peas, for 
instance, are the same kind of pea, though branded with 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 81 

various names by the dealers ; but the stocks of some are 
more sought for by market gardeners because they have 
found them to be more carefully kept to the type than some 
others, or better 'rogued,' as the term is, that is, the plants 
that show a tendency to revert to an inferior type are kept 
pulled out of the crop. The stocks from which our leading 
seedsmen get their seeds are nowadays of such general purity 
that any one can usually get just what he wants if he deals 
with a man of reputation. In most things it costs a Southern 
market gardener too much to attempt to save seeds, but if he 
grows nothing else he should always grow his own seed 
potatoes, and, in fact, should usually grow a surplus, as there 
is always a demand for them at planting time. 

DURATION OF VITALITY IN SEEDS. 

"There is a great difference in different plants in this 
respect. Some seeds quickly lose their vitality, while some 
retain the power to germinate for a very long time. Lettuce 
seed are not usually ranked among those which retain their 
vitality many years, but when well kept they may be trusted 
for several years. Beet seed will retain their germinating 
power for at least ten years under favorable conditions ; cab- 
bage, kale, radish, tomato, spinach, turnip, asparagus, broc- 
coli, cauliflower, beans and peas are all good for four years 
or more; while pumpkin, cucumber and melon seed will 
keep for ten years. Onion and leek seed are not to be 
relied upon after the second year, and their vitality is much 
weaker even in the second. But it must be borne in mind 
that these figures refer to seed that are kept under the most 
favorable conditions. In the moist climate of our Southern 

P 6 



82 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

coast the duration of vitality will usually be found to be 

shorter, and no one should trust onion seed here after the 

lapse of a year in our climate. Melon and cucumber seeds 

are more fruitful when two or three years old than when 

perfectly fresh, but make a less vigorous growth of vine. In 

all other cases perfectly fresh seed should be preferred. In 

all cases get seed from a seedsman of established reputation, 

and do not trust to seed put out on commission at country 

stores. 

TIME FOR SOWING. 

"All seeds usually sown in the open ground vary in their 
requirements for growth. The vital principle in seed re- 
quires three conditions to induce germination — moisture, a 
proper degree of heat, and access of the oxygen of the air. 
They all have a minimum temperature at which they will 
start into growth, some at a much lower point than others. 
Onions and English peas will germinate at a temperature but 
little above the freezing point, while the seeds of corn, cu- 
cumbers and other tender plants will rot if exposed to 
moisture at such a temperature. It is evident then that care 
must be used in sowing seeds at times when the temperature 
is suitable to the nature of the plant. The practice of soak- 
ing seed in water to hasten germination is seldom advisable, 
for unless the soil is in exactly the proper state of warmth 
and moisture at sowing, more harm than good will be done. 
If, at the time of sowing, the soil is dry it is always better to 
compact it over the seed, either by tramping with the foot 
on a row after sowing (as Mr. Peter Henderson used to in- 
sist upon), or by rolling. But if the soil is moist, either of 
these practices will do more harm than good. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 83 

As a rule all garden seeds should be sown in drills and 
not broadcast. Exceptions to this will sometimes be found 
profitable, as I have found it profitable to sow an early spring 
crop of strap-leaf turnips broadcast, and at times to scatter 
seed of radishes among other slower growing crops, but the 
rule holds good that the best crops are to be looked for from 
sowing in rows, careful thinning and clean cultivation. No 
market gardener should ever sow seed by hand. There are 
now several effective garden seed drills, and no one can afford 
to sow seed by hand. The depth at which seed are sown is 
governed by the character of the soil, the time of the year, 
and the moisture present. In a general way it may be said 
that the size of the seed should govern the depth of planting, 
but there are exceptions even to this, for the seed of the Lima 
bean, one of the largest seeds sown should be but barely stuck 
in the soil, eye down. The old rule is to cover the seed 
about three times its thickness with the fine mellow soil, but 
in many light soils this will hardly be sufficient for many 
things. Seed need deeper covering in sandy than in heavy 
soils, and the soil over all seeds should be made as fine as 
possible." 



84 ' SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

^ Vegetables* ^ 

IRISH POTATOES. 

It used to be thought that ear/j/ Irish potatoes alone 
could be successfully grown in the South, and these, while 
profitable for early shipment North, or immediate sale in 
our larger towns, would not keep well; but within the past 
few years it has been found that a late crop, planted with 
seed of the early one dug before they are fairly ripe, say 
when they are as large as hen's eggs, or as some advise 
with seed of the second crop grown the previous year, pro- 
duces potatoes that keep admirably. We do not suppose 
that in the coast region of the South a second crop can be 
grown, the summer and fall weather may be too warm and 
dry for a good stand to be secured, but they are found to 
succeed and are profitable when grown in the northern tier 
of Southern States, such as North Carolina, the Virginias, 
the northern part of Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ar- 
kansas, the latter State having lately taken a very prominent 
place in the raising of this product for shipment. 

(VV. F. M.) "The soil for the early potato crop should be 
a mellow sandy loam, well supplied with vegetable matter. 
Land newly cleared from the forest is excellent, but the best 
preparation on old lands is to grow a crop of peas on the land 
the previous season and let them die on the land to be 
plowed under for the crop. The plowing under should be 
done as soon as the vines are dead in the fall, as if plowed 
under just before planting they are apt to promote the scab 
fungus. Planting should be done here as soon as the land 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 85 

can be gotten in good order after the middle of February, or 
even sooner, and they may be planted during the first half 
of March with good prospects of success. 

"Various experiments have been made to ascertain the 
best mode of planting potatoes, whether to cut them to 
single eyes, two or three eyes, or to plant whole potatoes. 
It has been shown that planting whole potatoes usually gives 
the largest crop and single eyes the smallest ; but the great 
quantity of seed potatoes required to be kept or bought to 
plant them whole will always be a bar to this practice. As a 
rule we have found the best results, as to profit, have been 
from cutting the potatoes into pieces containing two or three 
eyes. These are dropped into furrows 2^/^ to 3 feet apart 
and 15 inches between the pieces. The fertilizer is spread 
along the furrows with a machine that scatters it in a broad 
band in the furrow and on both sides of it. It is then worked 
into the soil in the furrow before planting. Covering is done 
by turning a furrow from each side over the planting furrow, 
so that the potatoes are surrounded by the fertilizer, and a 
sharp ridge is made over the row. We leave this ridge until 
the potatoes are about to start when it is harrowed down and 
the soil is left in good order for the sprouting potato. We 
have also found that it is a saving of hand work, as soon as 
the potatoes can be seen along the rows, to run a smoothing 
harrow crosswise of the rows. This destroys the weeds and 
grass just starting in the hill and gives a good working. 
While for the late crop we favor flat culture, the early crop 
in the South should, we think, be always laid by with a furrow 
to each side, as the ridge gets warm much quicker than the 
level surface. The potato grows at a comparatively low 
temperature, and the warmth of early spring weather starts 



86 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

them into a vigorous growth to which a sudden return of 
frost would be fatal. When this is the case, and the potatoes 
are well advanced in growth, if the weather service predicts 
a coming cold wave, the plows should be started at once and 
a furrow plowed over the tops of the plants. This will pro- 
tect them from being cut down. One of our largest growers 
reported last summer that the potatoes he covered just before 
the frost of March 26 all matured early and brought a good 
price, while those he did not cover were cut down and were 
so late that the market was glutted when they went in. 

"To bring the best price the potato crop should be 
ready to ship early in June, They are carefully culled in the 
field and only the finest are shipped unless the price rules 
high enough to make it pay to ship culls. They are shipped 
in barrels and covered with bagging." 

The early crop is usually planted about the middle of 
February, is ripe from the loth to 20th of May, and is 
shipped North, usually in carload lots, arriving there two 
months before Northern grown potatoes are in market. 

The second crop is planted about the ist of August, 

and although from this planting the yield is usually less than 

that of the early one, yet as this late crop matures at a time 

when potatoes usually bring a good price at the South, and 

as they keep well all winter, and furnish the best of seed 

potatoes for the next season's early and late crops, they are 

profitable. 

SECOND CROP POTATOES. 

A difficulty is sometimes experienced in securing a good 

stand for the second crop, and if the weather should prove 

warm and dry, the plants are apt to come up weak and 

spindling. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 87 

The Arkansas Experiment Station, at Camden, Ark., 
recommends the bedding out of the seed potatoes in July for 
the second crop (dug from the first crop), the same as sweet 
potatoes are bedded, covering the potatoes 6 inches deep 
with good soil, and watering the bed until the sprouts are 
well started, when the sprouted tubers are taken up carefully 
and planted. 

Others recommend a lighter covering, say of 3 or 4 
inches of pine or other leaves, or hay or straw mixed with 
sand, and this covering kept well watered. 

There seems to be some difference of opinion as to the 
best plan to be used, some maintaining that the seed taken 
from the early crop of the same year should be replanted 
immediately , before they have time to dry.* 

Just as strenuously is it insisted, that the proper plan is 
to dig the potatoes of the first crop before they are fully 
matured, and "put them in an open shed, so as to be out of 
the sun, but have plenty of light. Let them lay three or four 
weeks, then cut and plant, covering deep." f Our own ex- 
perience leads us to believe the latter mode not a successful 
one, and to recommend either instantaneous planting, giving 
the tubers no time to dry out, or to sprout them in a well 
watered bed, according to the Camden plan. 

In regard to the time to plant the second crop, this will 
vary in the different parts of the South — in the northern and 
higher altitudes they should be planted in July ; in the 
more southern parts of the South the ist of August may be 
better. 

♦Proceedings Arkansas State Horticultural Society, 1894, p. 114. 
tProceedings Arkansas State Horticultural Society, 1893, p. 81. 



88 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

(W. F.M.) "At this Station we have made regular exper- 
iments for several years to devise the best mode of producing 
this crop with certainty, and have settled upon the following 
as the best mode of treatment. The potatoes from which it is 
desired to grow the second crop should be allowed to remain 
where they grew till perfectly ripe and the tops dead. If they 
are selected from the culls in digging the partly matured crop 
for shipping, there will be much uncertainty as to their 
sprouting. When the tops are dead, take them up and 
allow them to remain a day or so exposed to the light 
until they turn greenish. Then spread them in any conven- 
ient place on the ground and cover them with pine or other 
straw. Sprinkle the straw and thereafter never allow it to 
get dry all through. 

"Prepare the land as for the early crop except that the 
fertilization need not be so heavy, and run out the rows by 
going twice in a furrow with a turning plow and clean out the 
furrow full 6 inches deep. As the potatoes under the straw 
begin to start the eyes, which will be from the first to the 
middle of August, plant them in the deep furrows, but cover 
them not more than an inch over the top of the tubers until 
the green leaves begin to grow. Then gradually fill in the 
soil to them as they grow, until it is level. The after culture 
must be as level as possible and no hilling should be done; 
the object at this season of the year being to prevent the 
drying out of the soil. The potatoes will sprout earlier if, 
before bedding them under the straw, a small piece is clipped 
off one end and rejected. No further cutting should be done 
when planting. The planting should all be done by the mid- 
dle of August. This crop will grow green until the frost cuts 
the tops down, and their immaturity prevents their sprout- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 89 

ing before planting time, so that when they grow, it is with 
the strong growth of the terminal bud, which gives them a 
great advantage over the Northern potatoes, that have been 
long out of the ground and have had the sprouts rubbed off 
them in the cellar. 

LATE POTATOES FOR TABLE USE. 

"The growing of a late crop of potatoes for table use is 
a different matter from growing the crop for seed purposes. 
For the table we want a perfectly matured product. There- 
fore the planting should be earlier. The seed for this crop 
are the potatoes of the late seed crop kept over from the 
previous season. These will keep over in perfect condition 
for the planting in July. If kept in a cool, dark cellar they 
will seldom start their eyes until warm weather sets in. As 
soon as they show signs of sprouting remove them at once 
into full sunlight in a dry place. The sprouts will then form 
short, stubby and green, and will bear handling without rub- 
bing off. They should be planted any time in July when the 
soil is in a good and moist condition. The planting and cul- 
tivation should be the same as for the late seed crop. This 
crop will be fully matured by frost and will keep well for 
table use. But do not attempt to keep any of these for seed, 
but select all seed from the regular second crop potatoes. 
This crop should become of immense value for the Southern 
home market, for our markets here are still supplied with po- 
tatoes from the North at prices that would be very profitable 
to the home grower." 

As an ideal mode of culture for a main or midseason 
crop, Mr. Elbert S. Carman, editor of the Rural New 
Yorker, recommends to plow a piece of well drained land 



90 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

thoroughly, 6 inches deep, then lay off with the plow, trenches 
running north and south (if the slope of the land is favora- 
ble) 6 or 8 inches deep and 3 feet apart; run a subsoil plow- 
in the trench 6 inches deeper, pulverizing the soil thoroughly. 

In this trench plant the sets 6 inches below the natural 
level of the ground, i foot apart, covering with earth evenly, 
or with straw, old hay or leaves and manure, scattered on 
top. This method insures the retention of moisture, which is 
essential to success in raising potatoes. The subsequent work- 
ing should be shallow and level, not hilling the potatoes, which 
has a tendency to run the water away from the roots and to 
cut off the fine, long rootlets upon which the plant depends 
for the nourishment of the growing tubers. Planting in this 
case was done at the usual time for planting the main crop in 
that part of the country. 

Another plan somewhat similar to the above has been 
tried at the South, and very heavy yields have resulted. The 
planting in this case is done quite late in the fall, or even at 
a date that at the North would be considered in the winter, 
say from November 20 to December 25. 

The soil is deeply plowed and subsoiled, or worked 
deeply by hand with a spading fork; trenches 14 inches 
deep, 2^ to 3 feet apart should then be dug, or opened 
with the plow, in the bottom of which good, sound potatoes 
should be planted and covered in with trash such as pea or 
bean vines, tomato or potato tops, chips from the wood pile, 
old hay, pine straw, wheat or other grain straw, or even 
shavings, or on the top a light dressing of manure and a light 
covering of soil, anything in fact that will prevent the soil 
from packing down too hard and will have a tendency to set 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 91 

up a gentle fermentation and keep the potatoes warm in any 
hard freezes that may come in January or February. 

They may not come to the surface as early in the spring 
as those planted later, but the ground above them should be 
harrowed frequently until they are up and they should then 
be worked as is customary, but not hilled very much. They 
will be found to yield heavily, double the quantity of those 
planted shallower in February. The Irish potato, unlike the 
sweet, produces all its crop above the seed, and by the method 
given above, room is obtained for a heavy yield. We think, 
however, for very early potatoes the February shallower 
planting or potatoes started under glass will beat them. 

Mr. A. W. Poole, one of the largest raisers of potatoes 
in the South, does not exactly use the trench system, but 
breaks his land deep, and harrows; then plants in shallow 
furrows, by hand from a short sack hung by a strap around 
the planter's neck, near his waist. As each cut piece of 
potato, which he prefers to have of large size with two or 
three eyes, is dropped about i6 inches apart in the furrow, 
the planter steps on it; this, Mr. Poole affirms, is of the first 
importance as it packs the potato firmly in the ground and 
the soil snugly around it, and this packing tends to bring or 
retain the moisture so necessary to the strong growth and 
productiveness of this plant. 

Mr. Poole emphasizes these points in planting Irish 
potatoes: Plow land deep, furrow shallow, step on the sets 
with a good heavy shoe or boot as you plant, cover deep, espe- 
cially for the late crop, then as soon as they begin to sprout, 
harrow or knock off ridge over potatoes so as not to leave 
the potatoes more than 3 or 4 inches deep, then cultivate as 
nearly level as possible. 



92 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

A yield of 400 bushels was grown on i acre on "choco- 
late" river bottom land, near Clarksville, Johnson County, 
Ark. — 225 bushels the early and 175 bushels the late crop. 

Potatoes pay well at even 100 bushels to the acre, sold 
at 50 cents a bushel; but kept in root cellars or out-door 
pits until spring, they will bring usually 75 cents to $1 per 
bushel in Southern towns or railroad stations, in carload lots 
for shipment. 

On testing grounds in New Jersey, over 1,000 bushels 
have been raised per acre by the use of high grade fertilizers 
and best methods of culture. Potatoes are an excellent crop 
to grow in young orchards while trees are coming to maturity. 
They are a fine money crop at the South. 

And now comes a wonderful potato story from Texas. 
We give it for what it is worth. The statements can be easily 
verified. If they are true, they may be worth a great deal 
to our farmers. We take the statement from the Scientific 
American oi ]z.n\x^.xy 25, 1896. 

REMARKABLE POTATO GROWING. 
"Mr. C. E. Ford, of Rusk, Tex., who writes that he 
has been taking and has kept files of the Scientific American 
for thirty years, * * * gives us particulars of the remarkable 
success he has achieved in raising potatoes. The potatoes he 
prefers for forcing are of the Early Rose variety, the vines or 
stalks growing 6 to 8 feet, and but seldom blooming or 
having balls. The Triumph is said to make a crop quicker 
than the Early Rose and to stand the dry weather better. 
Mr. Ford believes in 'intensive' culture, or the higher fertil- 
izing and increased labor on a small piece of land, rather than 
little labor and fertilizing on a large tract. He sprouts his 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 93 

potatoes to the size of English peas or marbles before plant- 
ing, and then raises a crop in from four to six weeks, all of 
large size, without a peck of small potatoes to the acre. He 
writes: 'There were forty seed the size of peas planted to 
€very double hill. I plant my potatoes in the water furrow 
and leave a balk 4 to 6 inches wide, and when the potato 
seed are dropped on the balk a part of the seed fall on each 
side of the narrow balk. I cover with two furrows of turning 
plow. I make my rows 3 feet apart; the hills 18 inches 
apart in row, which makes 140 hills across an acre and 70 
rows to the acre makes 9,800 double hills of potatoes to the 
acre, or 19,600 single hills. As you will see, a hill of forty 
seed potatoes goes across the balk, making the hill cover 
some 18 inches, or half the ground. 

'I never plant less than twenty and have planted sixty, 
and the sixty will every one make as fine potatoes if we have 
plenty of rain. I also give my potatoes fertilizing with liquid 
manure every rain. It takes from sixty to seventy-five pota- 
toes to make a bushel, never more than seventy-five. I have 
kept the same seed for twenty-six years and have potatoes 
both sweet and Irish the whole year round. By sprouting 
your potatoes you have eating potatoes in less than one-half 
the time it takes under the old style of planting. It takes 
from four to six weeks to sprout the seed potato to the size 
of peas; the sprout room I keep warm by a small charcoal 
fire in a bake oven. One barrel of charcoal will be plenty 
for the whole time. I put my potatoes into old barrels or 
small boxes, so as to get them warm easier than in a big 
heap or bunk. The smaller the boxes, the easier and quicker 
they will sprout. When the potatoes get large enough, I 
knock off the hoops, take down the staves, and there are 



94 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

thousands upon thousands of small potatoes from the size of 
a bird's eye to that of peas and a few the size of marbles; 
the whole mass is held together with small roots. I take a 
hand barrow (not a wheelbarrow), and carry the seed down 
the row, and the third person breaks off as many as you wish, 
not less than twenty to forty — and let them fall on the balk 
in the water furrow and give two plowings. My sprout house 
has double walls and is filled in between with sawdust, also 
overhead, and has double doors." 

In harvesting either sweet or Irish potatoes at the South, 
they should always be kept out of the sunshine, as the hot 
sun causes them to rot. Put them just as soon as dug, into 
a wheelbarrow, wagon or basket, cover them at once, and 
remove to a shady place where they should lie covered lightly 
with straw to sweat and dry. It is well to have a layer of 
straw also beneath them to keep them from the dampness of 
the ground. They can then, when they have passed the 
sweating stage, be stored in a dry cellar or potato house, 
where they can be kept at an even, low temperature (see 
article on potato cellars), or put up in potato pits or hills, 
containing 30 or 40 bushels each. 

If to be stored out of doors, let the earth in the center of 
place where you intend to make your bed or pile be higher by 
at least 6 inches than the outer edges, sloping from the middle 
to the outside. Next put on a layer of pine straw, dry leaves or 
dry hay, and on these pile the potatoes in a cone, covering 
them with straw only for a few days, until they are well dried, 
then thatch them with layers of bark or pieces of boards over 
the straw, and finally cover all with 6 to 10 inches of dry earth, 
leaving a small opening at the apex for ventilation, which 
should be closed in very severe weather with hay. Some 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 95 

recommend to put the earth upon the straw, and cover last 
with boards, leaving in either case an opening at the top for 
ventilation. Either plan will answer well. There is no diffi- 
culty in keeping Southern grown late or second crop potatoes 
perfectly through the winter in a potato house or cellar, if 
the temperature is kept at about 50 degrees, or they keep 
excellently in piles out of doors, such as we have described. 

In shipping potatoes in carload lots in the spring, cattle 
cars are preferable, as they are better ventilated, but in the 
fall or winter tight box cars are best as less open to the effect 
of frost. 

Having gone over the ground thus in a somewhat cursory 
manner, giving mainly the views of others, there should per- 
haps be a few words more said, a few points specially to be 
noted. 

First. Do not plant potatoes on a piece of wet land — 
let it always be that which is well drained, naturally or arti- 
ficially. While moisture is essential to the growth of the po- 
tato, a good crop cannot be grown on land soaked with water 
a good part of the year. 

Second. A good crop of potatoes, a paying crop, can- 
not be grown on a poor or worn out soil. The very best 
preparation for growing potatoes is a crop of cowpeas, or red 
or crimson clover, plowed under. It is not the crop of 25 
bushels to the acre, sold at 50 cents a bushel, but the crop of 
200 to 300 bushels to the acre, sold at that price, that pays; 
therefore let the farmer work for the larger crop. He can get 
it if he will, with very little more expense than it costs to 
make the 25 bushel crop. 

Third. The. farmer should always bear in mind that 
the Irish potato produces all its crop above the seed ; so if you 



96 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

can give it room in a deeply plowed, mellow soil, made rich 
by the plowing under of suitable vegetable manures, you have 
secured for it the opportunity it delights in. 

Fourth. In planting for the first crop, plant early; 
in February. For the second crop, our advice is, use par- 
tially grown seed of the early crop as seed for the second, 
putting them back in the ground without drying or greening 
them, planting pretty deep, and harrowing the ground fre- 
quently even before the potato comes up, to keep the soil 
mellow and moist. Do this on a part of your ground, and 
on the balance try the plan of sprouting the seed potatoes 
before planting them, by putting them in a bed somewhat 
shaded, and covering them with pine trash, leaves or straw, 
and keeping them well watered every day. By testing these 
two methods you will learn doubtless the best plan for se- 
curing a good stand for the second crop, a matter that is yet 
somewhat in doubt ; and perhaps is affected by the different 
amount of rainfall and the condition of the soil in some years 
as compared with others. 

Fifth. Some varieties of potatoes are found to be very 
much better second croppers than others ; some in fact ap- 
pear to be worthless for this purpose, being almost sure to 
rot in the ground. The Missouri Red has seemed with us to 
have this character; while Bliss' Triumph is universally con- 
ceded to be one of the best for this purpose. In fact it is 
first-rate either as an early, or second crop potato. 

The Beauty of Hebron has proved a heavy cropper not 
only in the South but in experimental trials all over the 
country. The Early Ohio is also an excellent variety, and 
both of them should be tested in the South as second croppers. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 97 

After very extensive and thorough experiments, Profes- 
sor Starnes recommends for Georgia, Pride of the South, 
Early Rose, Beauty of Hebron, Carman No. i and Peerless. 
For the second crop Lookout Mountain. 

Sixth. The use of fresh animal manures is not recom- 
mended for either an early, or late, or second crop, especially 
not for the two last, and in fact even composts, or pretty well 
rotted manures, used after the hot weather has commenced, 
do more harm than good. The manuring of this crop should 
be done by the use of vegetable products plowed under the 
season before, or by the application of commercial fertilizers, 
such as acid phosphate, and potash; or if animal manures are 
used, they should be applied in a thoroughly decomposed 
condition, and put on the land the previous year if possible. 

DISEASES OF THE IRISH POTATO. 

In the complete and very valuable bulletin prepared by 
Professor Starnes, of the Georgia Experiment Station, we 
find the following: 

«' POTATO SCAB. 

"For a long time the cause of this malady — as extensive 
as the cultivation of the potato itself — was unknown, and 
various agencies were charged with producing it. By some 
it was supposed to be caused by an excess of lime in the soil, 
or because the land was too wet, too stiff, or otherwise 
unsuitable; by others it was ascribed to the free use of stable 
manure; while from time to time divers insects have been 
erroneously saddled with the blame. 

"It is due mainly to the investigations of Professor H. 
L. BoUey, of the North Dakota Experiment Station, and of 

P 7 



98 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Dr. Roland Thaxter, of the Connecticut Station, that the 
origin of the scab is now understood, and the means of suc- 
cessfully combating it simplified. 

"Briefly, it is found to be due to the inroads of a bac- 
teroid fungus — Ospora scabies. This fungus, or perhaps more 
properly, bacterium, is generally conveyed and communicated 
to the growing crop by the seed tubers, in which it has made 
a lodgement, and this may be the case even when the tubers 
are perfectly smooth and apparently free from affection. 

"At first there were supposed to be two distinct kinds 
of scab — the "surface" and "deep" scab; but of late they 
have been regarded as merely separate phases of the same 
malady, though possibly in the case of deep scab exagger- ' 
ated by the operations of wood lice in the pits or holes which 
the bacteria form. Both appear to be identical with a simi- 
lar affection of the beet. Either, if at all advanced, serves 
to render the affected tuber more or less unfit for market and 
in many severely contaminated sections operate as a veritable 
scourge. 

"Fortunately the remedies, though preventive only, 
are quite simple and effective. In the first place, as the 
bacteria or scab may remain some time in the soil, it is nec- 
essary to adopt a strict system of crop rotation. Potatoes 
should never occupy the same plat two years in succession, 
and it would be better if the rotation could be so effected as 
to avoid the necessity for planting the same land in this crop 
oftener than every four or five years. 

"In the second place, perfectly smooth and apparently 
unaffected tubers should be selected for seed. These should 
be well washed. If it is not intended to treat them further 
they should be lightly scoured with a scrubbing brush, though 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 99 

not bruised or scratched. This alone will doubtless to a 
great extent diminish the evil. The tubers, however, when 
washed, if complete immunity is intended, should be im- 
mersed, before cutting, in a solution of corrosive sublimate 
{^mercuric bichloride) . Professor Arthur, who has closely 
investigated the subject, advises a strength of i to i,ooo 
parts of water, or i ounce to 73^ gallons, and immersion 
therein for one and a half hours with sound tubers — a some- 
what shorter time with sprouted ones, that their germinating 
power may not be destroyed. However, Professor Byron D. 
Halstead, of the New Jersey Station, has come to the con- 
clusion, after repeated tests, that a weaker solution and a 
longer immersion are productive of better results. He recom- 
mends a solution of one-fourth the strength advised by Pro- 
fessor Arthur, i part of corrosive sublimate to 4,000 parts 
of water, which is equal to i ounce corrosive sublimate to 30 
gallons of water, and an immersion of four hours. 

"It must be noted that corrosive sublimate is a violent 
poison when taken internally, though harmless to the skin, 
and should hence be handled with extreme care. Only 
wooden or earthen vessels should be used in the preparation 
of the solution, and these should be locked up when done 
with and kept for this purpose only. 

"To make the solution, purchase i ounce of the pulver- 
ized sublimate, or the exact quantity, in proportion, that is 
intended to be used, no more, in order that none may be 
left over. It will cost at most druggists 15 cents per ounce. 
Thoroughly dissolve in 2 gallons of hot water in a cheap 
wooden bucket. Take a 50 gallon barrel and pour into it 
28 gallons of water, into which pour the concentrated solu- 
tion, stirring thoroughly. It is then ready for use and the 



100 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

barrel will have enough empty space (20 gallons) to accom- 
modate quite a number of potatoes without overrunning. 

"The seed potatoes may be suspended in gunny sacks 
in the barrel and removed after soaking four hours, when 
their space can be supplied by others. Perhaps a simpler 
way would be to have two barrels, each provided with a 
wooden faucet, in order that the solution may be drawn from 
one to the other when the potatoes have soaked the requisite 
time. In this case there is no need for sacks, as the tubers 
can be dumped into the barrel while empty and turned out 
when the solution is drawn off into the second barrel. 

"After removal the potatoes should of course be dried 
before cutting. If desired they may be cut before soaking, 
though the reverse is usually the practice. While all this ap- 
pears to entail some trouble, it will be found well worth the 
while to take it, since, if persisted in, after a few years' time, 
the dreaded Scab may be entirely eradicated on any farm. 
The process cannot be too strongly recommended, though at 
the same time the closest care must be observed, while hand- 
ling the solution, in the disposal of the vessels and liquid 
when the work is over. 

"If any soaked seed remain unplanted they should be 
buried and care taken that mules do not nibble at the cut 
tubers in the field during the planting. There is no danger, 
however, of the poison affecting the tubers of the resulting 
crop. 

"In place of corrosive sublimate, a much safer, and almost 
as effective, preparation — Bordeaux mixture — maybeused." 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 101 

EARLY BLIGHT 

Is the next most important fungoid affection. This, like 
the Scab, is very widely distributed over the country. It 
confines its attacks, however, to the leaves and stems, but 
never affects the tubers. 

Professor B. T. Galloway, chief of the division of 
Vegetable Pathology at Washington, in speaking of this dis^ 
ease, writes as follows: "At first the older leaves show gray- 
ish-brown spots, the affected parts becoming hard and brittle. 
The disease progresses rather slowly, the spots gradually be- 
coming larger, especially along the edges of the leaflets. At 
the end of ten days or two weeks, half of the leaf surface may 
be brown, withered and brittle, while the rest is of a pale yel- 
low color. Three weeks or a month may elapse before all the 
leaves succumb, the stems in the meantime remaining green, 
until they finally perish through lack of nourishment. The 
tubers stop growing almost as soon as the leaves are attacked, 
and as a result the crop is practically worthless." At the 
Georgia Experiment Station it is found that much less than 
a month is required to 'finish up' an untreated plat after the 
Macrosporium first makes its appearance, especially when the 
fungus is reinforced by a baking drouth — not that dry weather 
stimulates the fungus, but because the heat of the sun on the 
partially defoliated and enfeebled stalks quickly completes 
what the disease has begun. When there is also a combina- 
tion of the flea-beetle, the work of destruction is speedy 
indeed. 

"An effective remedy for the Macrosporium is spraying 
with Bordeaux mixture as soon as the plants are well up — 
that is, some 6 inches high — and continuing at intervals of 
two weeks up to the first of June, Other preparations have 



102 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

been used successfully, such as modified Eau Celeste, but 
Bordeaux mixture appears to be the universally approved 
application, though sometimes combined with either a soap 
solution for the benefit of the flea beetle, or with Paris green 
for other biting insects." 

INSECT PESTS. 

THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE. 

This pest has not been very troublesome at the South, 
but we have known several promising crops of potatoes 
almost entirely destroyed by them. As this rapacious insect 
breeds at an astonishingly rapid rate, a Canadian entomol- 
ogist having stated that the progeny from a single pair, if un- 
molested or destroyed, would in a single season amount to 
over 60,000,000, the question of their destruction is a serious 
one. 

The parent bug, or beetle, is a fat, roundish insect about 
one-half inch in length, its scientific name being Doryphora 
decent lineata (or ten-lined Doryphora), so named from the 
five black stripes on each of its wing covers. Its main color is 
yellow, resembling the little striped cucumber bug, but much 
larger and more chunky. 

One female potato beetle will lay as many as from 700 
to 1,200 eggs, putting them in clusters of from one to two 
dozen, on the under side of the leaves. These hatch out in 
a few days, producing dark brown slugs, about the size of a 
pinhead, which eat and grow rapidly, until in about twenty 
days they attain the size of the parent, and are very disgust- 
ing looking bloated worms or slugs. They then bury them- 
selves in the earth, and in about from ten to twelve days come 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 103 

forth perfect beetles, ready again to deposit eggs for the next 
crop. There are said to be three broods each year. 

It is almost of no use to try to destroy these pests by 
picking them off, especially if your patch is a large one. The 
writer tried this faithfully one season. Armed with a tin 
bucket and a wooden paddle, he went regularly and faithfully 
through the patch, day after day, tapping the vines, knocking 
slugs and bugs into the bucket, and scalding them to death 
finally with hot water. But the bugs were too many for us, 
and we were driven to find some other mode of extermination. 

An application of arsenic is the remedy. At first this 
was done by mixing Paris green or London purple with fiour 
or plaster of Paris, applying it dry when the dew was on the 
vines, but of late years, since spraying has come so much 
into use, and is so effective, it is found that a solution of Paris 
green or London purple, i pound to 200 gallons of water, 
kills them readily. Of course, a second and perhaps three 
or four sprayings may be found necessary to rid the crop of 
the second and third generations, which come from the eggs 
and the buried pupae. 

One thing is favorable, the insects are not great travelers ; 
when they get in a patch they usually stay there as long as 
there is anything left to eat, so that you are not as likely to 
be troubled with bugs from your neighbor's field, as you 
would be if they were of a more roving disposition. 

Vigilance is the price of success, however, in growing 
potatoes whenever the Colorado potato beetle puts in an 
appearance. Vines should be watched closely every few 
days, whenever this pest is known to be in the neighborhood, 
as your crop may be nearly half eaten up in a week or ten 
days, before you dream of any damage being done, if \c)u 



104 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

neglect to watch. If only a few appear, knock them out on 
the first round ; spray all the infested vines at once, or the 
slugs will be grown and down in the ground ready to be the 
progenitors of the countless millions of the future, before you 
get to work. Rest assured, if you do not fight these pests 
vigorously, you will have no potatoes; no, not even vines. 
They will be eaten off down to the ground. 

THE FLEA BEETLE. — Haltica cucumeris. 

This article upon the flea beetle is taken from Georgia 
Bulletin No. 29, written by Professor H. N. Starnes. 

"This insect is quite small, its length being about one- 
sixteenth of an inch long — no larger than a good sized flea — 
which it also resembles in the extreme enlargement of its hind 
legs, and its capacity to leap with such agility and power 
that, like its namesake, it is difficult to locate. It feeds on the 
foliage of other cultivated plants besides the potato, notably 
cucumbers, from which it derives its scientific name. Much of 
the damage ascribed to the Macrosporiuni fungus may per- 
haps be properly charged to the flea beetle, which sometimes 
drills the leaves so full of holes that they are very nearly 'all 
hole and no leaf.' Fortunately, however, it is not so preva- 
lent North as South. For a long while it was difficult to 
combat it, as neither arsenites, buhach, hellebore, nor any 
other common insecticide seemed to avail. Professor S. A. 
Beach, of the New York Geneva Station, first demonstrated 
that the use of hard soap in solution with Bordeaux mixture 
would successfully resist their inroads by forming a thin film or 
coating over the leaf, which would remain for weeks, or until 
renewed. Six pounds of soap to the barrel (50 gallons.) 
is the proper proportion. The soap should be mixed with a 



AND FRUIT RAISER S GUIDE. 



105 



sufficiency of hot water to thoroughly dissolve it, and the 
soap solution so obtained, used to fill up the barrel during the 
process of Bordeaux manufacture detailed under a previous 
head. In this way the sprayings made for early blight will 
prove, with little additional cost, a preventive for the flea- 
beetle, if it chances to be prevalent." 

SWEET POTATOES. 

Almost everybody knows how to raise sweet potatoes^ 
but a few hints may be acceptable. 




To raise the "slips," select a sunny piece of ground,, 
sheltered from north and west winds by buildings or fences; 
here make beds 4 feet wide sloping them a little to the south 
digging them thoroughly and working in plenty of well-rotted 
manure. It is best to box the edges with 6 to 10 inch boards 
to prevent washing of the soil. On these beds lay smooth 
unbruised potatoes, side by side, an inch or so apart over 



106 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

the entire bed ; cover with 3 or 4 inches of fine soil and water 
them frequently until the sprouts are well grown. The bed 
should be prepared the last of February or first of March. 
From 5 to 10 bushels will furnish enough slips to plant an 
acre, some varieties furnishing more sets than others. Re- 
move the slips from the beds by pressing down the earth 
over the potatoes with one hand, pulling off the sprouts with 
the other, so as not to disturb the fibrous roots, as the parent 
potato will continue to furnish slips for several months if not 
disturbed. 

These seed beds should be protected from frosts and 
hard freezes, by covers of glass, or by frames with cotton 
cloth tacked upon them, these covers being removed when 
the sun shines and the air is warm. 

Not only can slips or sets be taken from the seed beds, 
but can be cut from the plants after they have been set out 
in the fields and are well established, say in four to six 
weeks after they have been transplanted from the seed beds. 
These plants are fully as productive and do as well as the 
original plants. 

A sandy or sandy loam soil is best for sweet potatoes, 
the ground moderately rich. Deep plowing and thorough 
pulverization of the soil is necessary, and the ground should 
be laid off in ridges, the crowns of which should be 33^ 
feet apart, It is customary to run these ridges north and 
south, and this is probably the best arrangement unless the 
natural drainage of the land favors some other direction. 

The plants are set in holes made with a sharpened stick, 
or "dibble," 18 inches apart in the top of the ridges, and if 
set in the cool of the evening, very few plants fail to grow. 

They should be well worked when young to keep down 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 107 

weeds and stimulate their growth, working the rows broad, 
rather than high and pointed. Let the last working be deep 
and thorough but not too near the plants, laying the vines 
over upon themselves on either side out of the way of the 
plow. Care should be taken not to cover the vines with soil, 




BERMUDA SWEET POTATO. 

SO that the strength of the plants shall go to the main roots 
and potatoes, not to suckers. Wood ashes, supplying pot- 
ash, and the phosphates, are the best manures for this plant. 
Two crops can be grown the same year, if slips for the 
early crop are grown in a hotbed, and the plants set in the 
field just as soon as all danger of frost is over. If only one 



108 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

crop is grown this can be planted to good advantage after a 
crop of winter oats is harvested. The crop of potatoes should 
average 300 bushels per acre, worth $150, and the oats $20,. 
or $170 for one year's crops. 

The best known and approved sorts are the Yellow Nan- 
semond, known also as the Early Carolina or Jersey Yellow, 
which is the most popular market variety, and the Bermuda 
(white and red) which grows very large, and is very vigor- 
ous and productive. 

(W. F. M.) "The sweet potato crop for the early 
market is one of the crops that will pay well to use glass in 
the forwarding of the plants. In order to have good strong^ 
plants at the earliest moment that it will be advisable to set 
them in the open ground, it is necessary to protect the plants 
during their earlier stages. This, of course, can be done in 
a measure by covering the beds with pine straw, but where 
one is provided, as every market gardener should be, with 
frames and sashes, it is far more certain and convenient to 
grow the plants under the sashes. In bedding the potatoes 
under glass no manure is needed, as we prefer to bed in pure 
sand. We thus avoid largely the 'black shank fungus' that 
is often so destructive in manure heated beds. A thick bed 
of sand, or very sandy soil, is placed in the frames and on 
this the potatoes are bedded in the usual manner and covered 
with an inch or more of the same. This should be done 
about the first of March. The sashes are at once put on and 
kept closed until there are signs of sprouting, when air must 
be given on sunny days and the bed kept regularly watered. 
By this means it is easy to have the plants as early as it is 
safe to put them out. Care must be taken as the weather 
grows warmer, to expose the plants at all proper times to 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 109 

the full open air, so as to get them hardened off ready for 
transplanting 

"The sweet potato is one of the plants with which 
shallow plowing is far better than deep. Nearly all of our 
growers here make their hills too high and thus get long, 
crooked and unsalable potatoes in the Northern markets, 
where a short, chunky potato is demanded. To grow these 
we must have the land plowed shallow, and the ridges also 
shallow. The best manure is the black mold from pine 
woods mixed with the pine straw and piled up the fall before 
in large heaps and mixed with lime. This is spread broad- 
cast in the spring and plowed in. If then cross plowed to 
mix it more perfectly all the better. Then, in running out 
the furrows for making the lists, we scatter in the furrow 300 
pounds per acre of a mixture of 600 pounds of acid phos- 
phate and 200 pounds of muriate of potash; make a two- 
furrow list over this and flatten slightly for planting. Nitro- 
genous manures should be avoided as tending rather to a 
ranker growth of tops. The woods-mold and lime compost 
will furnish all the nitrogen needed, and the liberal percent- 
age of potash will prevent any harm from excessive stimula- 
tion. An ordinary cultivator is the best tool for the greater 
part of the cultivation, and the laying by should be done 
with the ordinary tools used in the cotton crop, for the hilling 
generally given cotton is plenty for sweet potatoes. In setting 
out the plants we draw them carefully from the bed so as 
not to disturb the tubers and set them at once in tubs of 
water. They are set from these tubs dripping with water, 
and the roots puddle themselves in the soil so that after- 
watering is seldom needed. These early plants are entirely 
for the early crop for shipping. A late crop for home use 



110 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and for seed is grown by taking good sized cuttings and 
setting them in ridges in July and August. Potatoes grown 
from these cuttings of the vines will keep far better in winter 
than those grown from the spring plants. Where these 
late potatoes are wanted only for bedding purposes a large 
crop of small roots can be grown by making the cuttings a 
yard long, coiling them around the hand and planting the 
whole coil, leaving only the tip exposed." 

CABBAGES. 

TWO CROPS PER ANNUM. 

Cabbages can be just as successfully grown in the South 
as in Ohio or New York; the only difference being that 
here you can grow two crops in the year, there but one. 
"How can it be done?" Sow your seed early in December in 
boxes in the house, in the greenhouse, or in glass covered 
hotbeds, or in "cold frames" with covers made with cotton 
cloth tacked on slat frames, which will usually be sufficient to 
keep off frosts, but which must be supplemented during hard 
freezes with extra covers of matting, gunny sacks or old 
carpeting. 

These beds should be in some warm corner, on the south 
side of buildings or fences, where they will be protected from 
cold winds. The plants will be ready to set out (if they have 
been watered and tended well by giving them plenty of air 
and sunlight so that they have not grown spindling and 
"drawn") the first to loth of March. If, however, it is 
desired to have earlier plants, sow the seeds in October or 
November (in poorer soil than in December) and when grown 
large enough to set out, transplant them into another bed or 
cold frame in poor soil, putting them close together to stand 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. Ill 

over winter, giving them all the cold air possible night and 
day, only covering them during hard freezes through the 
winter. 

The best very early variety we consider the Jersey Wake- 
field, though some prefer the Winningstadt, Cabbages will 
do well only on good rich clay or loam soil, with clay subsoil, 
and should be heavily manured with the best of well rotted 
manure, cow manure being preferable. Applications of lime 
and salt the previous fall and winter are beneficial, tending to 
destroy and keep off cutworms, and also to act chemically 
upon the manures, rendering them more easy of assimilation 
by the plants. 

It is highly important that the ground be worked deeply, 
either with spade or fork if in the garden, or with plow and 
subsoil plow if in the field, before setting the plants. 

The Jersey Wakefield variety can be set i6 or i8 inches 
apart, while the larger and later sorts, such as Flat Dutch, 
Drumhead, Fottler's Brunswick, etc., should be set not less 
than 2 feet, and all plants of the cabbage family should be 
set in tJie ground np to the first leaf, Jio matter how long the 
stem may be, and the earth pressed tightly about the root. 
Setting the plant deep is one of the most important points in 
cabbage culture ; they will not head otherwise. 

Another important point is to work the ground fre- 
quently, especially when it is damp, early in the morning or 
after a rain. 

For the second crop, sow the seed in August in a bed 
on the north side of a building or fence, watering the bed 
regularly, and setting out as soon as the plants are large 
enough; work them well and frequently, as directed above, 



112 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and the crop will be ready for market before cold weather 
comes in the winter. 

A good crop of beans or of some other quick growing 
vegetable can be grown on the same ground, between the 
time of gathering the early cabbages and planting the late 
ones. The early crop of cabbages should be ready to cut 
from the first to the middle of June, and the late crop should 
be planted about the ist of October, and will be ready for 
use in January. 

Cutworms are pretty sure to trouble cabbage growers 
early in the spring, eating the plants in the night and bury- 
ing themselves in the soil near the stems in the daytime. 
They must be dug out and killed ; a small stick or a large 
nail are good tools to do this with (the cut leaves or stems 
will show where the worms are) . The patch should be 
"wormed" every few days, but if it is a large one the remedy 
proposed by Professor McCarthy should be used, namely, 
"to spray Paris green upon green, succulent vegetation of any 
kind, especially clover and cabbage leaves, dust upon these 
some wheat flour and roll the leaves in a ball, and tie. Pre- 
pare the field at least a week before planting, and distribute 
the poison balls throughout the field, say lo feet apart; the 
worms coming to the surface and finding no growing plants 
will cut the poisoned baits. The bait must be renewed when 
withered. A shingle may be placed upon each ball to keep 
it moist." Later the green worms will appear, generally 
lying along the central ribs of the leaves, and these must be 
picked off, or otherwise destroyed, or they will eat up your 
cabbages. 



AND FRUIT RAISER S GUIDE. 



113 





Male. Female. 

IMPORTED CABBAGE WORM BUTTERFLY. 
These are known as the imported cahhage worm. We 
give engravings of these pests. They are well known to almost 
everybody. The butterflies are usually white, but sometimes 
a pale yellow, with dark markings on the upper sides of the 
wings. The eggs are laid in groups of twenty or thirty on 




fl, Worm; /', Chrysalis. 

WORM AND CHRYSALIS OF IMPORTED CABBAGE WORM 
BUTTERFLY. 

the under side of the cabbage leaves, and hatch in about a 
week, and when fully grown the worm is about i]/^ inches 
long. It lies usually along the central rib of the leaf in the 
daytime, eating away the sides of the leaves at night, 
p 8 



114 



SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 



CABBAGE PLUSIA. 

Another enemy of the cabbage grower is the cabbage 
plusia. The caterpillar is pale green in color and marked 
with light longitudinal stripes, and is very voracious, eating 
into the very hearts of the cabbages. The moth is of a dark 
gray color, marked as shown in the engraving below. It 
usually flies at night. 




a. Worm; b. Chrysalis in cocoon; c, Moth, 

CABBAGE PLUSIA. 

For these and other cabbage worms spraying with a 
strong tobacco solution is an effectual remedy; that made 
from tobacco stems will answer the purpose admirably. 

Another remedy is pyrethrum powder, either used dry 
or in water applied with a spray pump. If used dry, dust it 
on in the early morning while the dew is on the plants, but 
the easiest way in a large patch is to spray it on. 

HARLEQUIN CABBAGE BUG. 

In the later part of the season the Harlequin cabbage 
bugs are likely to appear, and although at first they may 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 115 

seem to be insignificant, yet very soon their numbers will 
increase rapidly, and they will prove very destructive, eating 
the outside tissue of the leaves and making the young cab- 
bages appear white and blasted. 

This insect is about half an inch long, a fat little bug, 
black, marked with red and yellow. There are several broods 
in a season, so they should be fought on first appearance, 
and will generally be found on mustard and radish plants, 
before the cabbages are large enough for their attack. 

It is well, therefore, to sow these plants on ground de- 
signed for cabbages and destroy the young bugs just as soon 
as they appear, by spraying the plants with a strong emulsion 
of kerosene. 

As long as there are plenty of mustard or radish plants 
for them to eat, they will not disturb the cabbages. But they 
must be fought vigorously while young, as the old, full grown 
bugs are hard to kill even with kerosene emulsion. 

A few broods of young chickens are good things to have 
near a cabbage patch. Applications of dry wood ashes and 
a little Paris green mixed, are recommended to kill worms on 
young cabbages, but this should only be applied before they 
begin to head at all. It should not be used on cabbages that 
are heading, as it might lodge and be retained in the head. 
Paris green, as is well known, is an arsenical preparation, and 
a deadly poison. Water heated to 120 degrees (no hotter) 
can be used on cabbages to kill worms or lice, and does not 
usually injure the plants. 

Keep sufficient plants back in your seed beds to reset 
where any have failed to live, or been eaten off by cutworms. 



116 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Remember, then, if you please, the main points in cab- 
bage growing in the South are : 

Rich soil deeply worked. 

Early plants or very late ones. 

Deep setting. 

Firm packing of the soil about the roots of the young 
plants. 

Frequent workings, especially when the ground is damp. 

Worms and bugs well fought and destroyed. 

Attention to these points will bring success, and success 
in cabbages, while it means lots of work, means also lots of 
money. 

Cabbages set i8 inches apart both ways yield 19,341 
plants to the acre, or if set 2 feet apart, the product is 10,890 
plants ; which, if sold at 3 cents each, would give $580.23 
and $326.70 respectively as the returns of the acre; or if 
sold at 5 cents each, the snug sums of $967.05 and $544.50, 
and then the fall crop, the second crop on the same ground, 
would still remain to be heard from. But I think I hear you 
say this is visionary, purely imaginative. No, my friend, it 
is not ; similar returns to those given above are realized on the 
cabbage farms of the South, where cabbage planting is made 
a business of, year after year. 

(W.F.M.) "The early cabbage crop is one of the greatest 
im,portance to the Southern market gardener, and its increased 
consumption seems to keep pace with the increase in produc- 
tion as well as any other crop grown. Many years ago, 
when we depended upon Europe for many of our seeds, and 
the old Early York was the standard early cabbage, there was 
nothing more uncertain than the heading of an early cabbage. 
But since we have learned that for American planting home 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 117 

grown cabbage seeds are essential, and the Early Jersey- 
Wakefield cabbage has been developed, the crop is as rea- 
sonably certain as any. There are still in the South some 
gardeners who imagine that the European grown seeds are 
the best, and there are dealers who cater to this impression, 
for the imported seed can be sold much cheaper than the 
home grown ones. But the gardener who imagines that a 
very low price for seeds is consistent with good quality will 
be badly deceived. Seeds from a well bred race, that have 
been kept pure by long selection, always cost more than 
carelessly grown seeds, and are worth to the grower many 
times the difference in the price. 

GROWING THE PLANTS. 
"Early cabbages are always planted in the fall in the 
South, and well grown plants at the right time are essential 
to success. While a good sized plant is necessary at planting 
time in November, care should be taken not to make the 
sowing of the seed too early, for if these early plants get a 
check in their growth they will run to seed in the spring in- 
stead of making heads. It is the opinion of experienced 
gardeners that this running to seed is not so much the result 
merely of too early sowing, but of a check by drouth or some 
other cause. The proper time for sowing seed for the early 
cabbage crop is from September 25 to October 10. In some 
seasons they may be sown later, but several sowings within 
these dates will usually give the plants the proper size. We 
prefer several sowings rather than depend on the results of 
but one, for the earlier ones in some seasons may not be in 
as good condition at planting time as those sown later, while, 



118 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

if an early cold sets in, the earliest ones may be the better 
ones. 

"The careful gardener will also guard against possible 
loss of plants by making still another sowing of seed in the 
cold frames in late November, and keep them protected by 
sashes on cold nights until February, when they will make a 
useful succession crop to the first planted ones if they do well. 
This last sowing should be made of a larger growing variety, 
like Fottler's Brunswick, or Succession, which do not do so 
well for the early fall sowing. The early fall sowing should 
be made on a bed of fairly fertile soil, but no manure or fer- 
tilizer should be used, as a very rapid growth would make 
the plants too tender, and a sudden check in this rank growth 
would throw them into seed making. The soil into which 
they are to be transplanted later cannot be made too rich, 
but in the seed bed at this season we want a moderate and 
sturdy growth, so that the transplanting to a highly enriched 
soil will be no check to them, and they will be in a better con- 
dition to go through the hard weather that January may 
bring. 

"Make up beds for the seed sowing about 4 or 5 feet 
wide and sow seed in rows across the bed about a foot apart. 
The seed should be sown thinly so as to give room for stocky 
growth. The beds can be thrown up with a plow about a 
week ahead and let lie for the weed seed to germinate, and 
in raking them level, these weeds will be destroyed and give 
less trouble thereafter. Those sown in the frames we usually 
scatter broadcast and transplant, as soon as large enough to 
handle, about 2 inches apart all over the bed. This will give 
much better plants than if they were left as sown. If not 
transplanted the seed should be sown in rows in the frames, 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 119 

too, but the rows need be but 3 inches apart. There are so 
many accidents of weather and insects to guard against that 
the careful gardener will always use a superabundance of 
seed in preparing for this crop. 

"The late Peter Henderson, in his book 'Gardening for 
Profit,' estimates an ounce of seed to secure 2,000 plants. 
Now, there are several times that many seed in an ounce, and 
even with the best of seed we seldom secure all the plants in 
good shape that germinate. We must make large allowance 
for the fall grasshoppers, with their enormous appetites, and 
the reverses of the weather. So the amount of seed advised 
by Mr. Henderson is, in our experience, not far from right 
for safety. We have sometimes lost every seed, of an entire 
sowing, from no fault whatever in the seed, but from insects 
and unfavorable weather. A baking rain should be at once 
followed by a loosening of the soil in the bed, whether 
the seeds are up or not. 

THE SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION. 
"In the first place let it be well understood that the soil 
for early cabbages cannot be too rich. The plants are gross 
feeders, particularly of nitrogenous manures, and a continuous 
and rapid growth is essential to earliness and a good crop. 
Land freshly cleared from a forest growth, no matter how 
fertile it may be naturally, nor how well manured it may be, 
will not grow the best crop of early cabbage. It needs years 
of culture in vegetable crops to fit the soil .for the best results 
in cabbage growing. The best soil for the early cabbage 
crop is a high, mellow loam, inclining rather more to clay 
than too sandy, but quite a sandy soil will make good crops 
if the clay subsoil is not too far away. Such land may be 



120 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

quite thin at first, but it can be more rapidly brought into 
good condition for this crop than the deep, black soils of a 
lower lying land. These lands are bad for wintering the 
plants and make soft headed cabbage. But no matter how 
fertile you may have gotten your uplands, it will never do to 
assume that you can grow a good crop of early cabbage 
without further heavy dressings. Other crops may at times 
make their growth in what the previous crop has left in the 
soil, but early cabbage never. While in case of necessity 
cabbage may be grown, by heavy manuring, in the same 
land that grew the same crop the year before, it is always 
best to rotate the crops and not plant the same land two 
years in succession if it can be avoided. 

"We have never yet been able to discover the limit to 
which manuring may be profitably carried with this crop. 
The use of lime as the soil gets well supplied with vegetable 
matter is an important matter in the cultivation of the cab- 
bage crop. It should be applied about once in five years, at 
the rate of 50 bushels per acre. If the soil has a clay bottom 
it should be deeply broken by the subsoil plow whenever the 
land comes in cabbage. The more lavish the manuring and 
the better the previous preparation, the better always the crop. 

TRANSPLANTING. 

"In drawing the plants from the seed bed in November 
they should be at once placed in tubs containing enough 
water to cover the roots, in which they should be taken to 
the field, and set while dripping wet. We prefer to run the 
rows east and west, put most of the fertilizer in the laying-off 
furrows and bed on them. Then set the plants near the base 
of the bed on the south side. The plants should be set so 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 121 

firmly in the soil that the tip of a leaf will break off before 
the plant can be pulled out by taking hold of the edges of 
the leaf, and they should be set well in the ground so as to 
cover the entire stem, which is the most tender part. The 
beds should be from 2 j^ to 3 feet apart, and the plants about 
15 inches apart in the row. When plants are plenty it is a 
good plan to set them half this distance apart, to guard 
against accidents during the winter, and in spring cut out the 
surplus plants to dispose of for greens, when the other plants 
need all the room. 

CULTIVATION. 
"No plant that the gardener grows requires more rapid 
and thorough culture than the cabbage. The plants being 
set during November will not need any cultivation until they 
begin to grow strongly in February. As soon as the growth 
begins the rows should be barred off with a small plow and 
the soil at once leveled with the cultivator. The cultivator 
should then be used once or twice and the cultivation com- 
pleted with the plow by bedding the soil back to the plants. 
I have found it of great benefit at the 'laying-by' cultivation 
to run a plow without moldboard deeply through the center 
of the middles, A light subsoil plow or a common bull- 
tongue will answer. The remainder of the fertilizer should 
be used alongside the rows in barring off, to be covered by 
subsequent cultivation. 

HARVESTING AND SHIPPING. 
"A light, sharp hatchet is the best tool for cutting cab- 
bages. The shipping should begin as soon as the hearts of 
the cabbages are firm and solid. A few of the outer leaves 
should be left on, so as to make them pack nicely in the bar- 



122 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

rels. Ventilated barrels are generally preferred for shipping, 
but large crates holding a barrel are coming more and more 
into use for cabbages and a few other crops. Our growers 
think that a small-headed Jersey Wakefield, that will take 
nearly seventy-five heads to a barrel, makes a more profitable 
shipping cabbage than the larger Charleston Wakefield, that 
will fill a barrel with fifty heads. The Succession and Fott- 
ler's Brunswick will fill a barrel with eighteen or twenty heads. 
"The packing should be done as firmly as possible, so 
that there should be no material shrinking in transit. Put 
heads of same average size in each barrel, cover with bagging 
and mark the number of heads in each. When the cabbage 
crop is off, the gardener who has the increasing fertility of 
the soil in view will at once plow in a good sowing of cow- 
peas on the land, to be cut later, with the crab grass that 
will inevitably spring up among them, for hay to feed the 
stock, for stock of some kind should always be kept on a 
truck farm to profitably use up the refuse from the crops and 
to furnish manure. 

VARIETIES. 

"The earliest cabbages are invariably of the conical 
headed class. The introduction of the Jersey Wakefield 
marked an era in early cabbage culture in this country, and 
soon caused the old Early York to be abandoned by all pro- 
gressive truckers. The great fault of the Wakefield has been 
a lack of uniformity of type. When we first began to grow 
this cabbage, twenty-five years ago, the best samples would 
give many round heads that were always later and reduced 
the value of the crop materially, and delayed the subsequent 
use of the land. Now, after years of careful selection, we 
have various strains of Wakefield and other conical headed 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 123 

sorts that are uniform in type and far more valuable than the 
original Wakefield. The largest heading of these is the one 
known as the Charleston. This comes very true to type and 
is of good size, but it is later than the small type. 

"Of the smaller type of conical headed cabbages there 
are two that have become favorites with the market gar- 
deners of the South. These are Tait's Extra Early and Tail's 
Extra Early Pilot. The first has long been largely grown 
around Norfolk, but the last is a more recent introduction. 
It is, in our experience, the best of the early cabbages for 
our use, as many more can be planted on an acre than of 
others, owing to its slim, upright growth, and it is of the 
size that has been found to sell best in barrels. The Win- 
ningstadt was long a favorite with us when the Wakefield was 
so badly mixed, but it has the disadvantage of making such 
wide spreading leaves that fewer can be grown on an acre. 
The heads are remarkably solid, and while at the North it is 
stated to be much later than the Wakefield, we have not 
found much difference between them and the ordinary type 
of Wakefield in this respect in the South. We have often 
commenced to cut both the same day. But it is later than 
the two sorts last named, which we consider the ideal early 
cabbages. 

"Of the flat headed second early type there is little 
choice between F'ottler's Improved Brunswick and Succession. 
Both are fine and very sure to head. If there is anj' differ- 
ence we would give preference to Succession. These varieties 
should never be sown in the early fall, when the early sorts 
are sown, as they will be apt to run to seed. Sow them in 
cold frames in November and transplant for wintering in the 
frames. 



124 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

LATE CABBAGE. 

"The crop of late cabbage is a far more difficult one 
to grow in the South than the early crop. The climate in 
summer, and the multitude of various insects, together with 
the diseases that infect it, make the culture of the late fall 
and winter crop a matter of much uncertainty in all the 
eastern plain country of the South Atlantic slope. In the 
western mountain region of this State the soils and climate 
are peculiarly well adapted to this crop, and it has assumed 
great importance there as a crop to ship to the coast cities of 
the South. 

" The great difficulty in the culture of late cabbages in 
the South has been, we think, that growers in the warm 
coast regions have followed too closely the practices that are 
found best in the North, but which are not best in our 
climate. While it is extremely difficult here to have cab- 
bages to head in the early fall, it is much more easy to have 
a good late winter supply, if the proper conditions are 
observed. Most people sow the seed of their late cabbage 
too early, and then have to keep them through the long 
summer. If the plants sown in the spring survive at all, 
they are in such a stunted state that no good cabbages can 
be made from them. In the mountain country, the common 
Northern modes of sowing and culture are all right, but in 
all the warmer sections we must adopt a different plan. Here 
seed for late cabbages should not be sown before the ist of 
August. While in sowing seed for the early crop in the fall, 
it is desirable not to have the seed bed too rich, the opposite 
must be the case with those for winter heads. The seed bed 
should be away from the farm buildings, as insects are more 
troublesome there. A good plan is to burn over a bed, just 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 125 

as it is done for tobacco plants, and then manure it heavily. 
The seeds are to be sown in rows, and encouraged to grow as 
rapidly as possible. Dusting the plants as soon as they 
appear with tobacco dust and air-slaked lime we have found 
to be the best means to ward off the ' flea-beetle.' 

"The plants should be planted in a naturally moist, 
clayey soil, made as rich as possible. Cultivation should be 
rapid and thorough, and every means should be used to keep 
the plants growing as fast as possible. As it is important 
that they should begin to turn in for heading early in No- 
vember, a dressing of nitrate of soda alongside the rows will 
be useful. Then early in December they will be well headed. 
If they are then bent down where they grew, with the heads 
turned toward the north, and the soil is well banked over 
the stalk and the base of the head, they will keep well. 

" For this crop we prefer to use Fottler's Brunswick and 
premium flat Dutch. The first named will head earlier, and 
the last will keep longer. Constant care will be needed with 
this crop to keep insects in check. 

"For the common 'green worm,' the larvae of the 
cabbage Plusia and Pieris butterflies, the best remedy we 
have tried is a mixture of salt and air-slaked lime in equal 
parts sprinkled over the plants. If a dressing of nitrate of 
soda is applied alongside the rows in cultivating, the growth 
will be so much encouraged that the plants will, in a meas- 
ure, outstrip the worm. The harlequin or terrapin bug can 
be destroyed by kerosene emulsion in almost full strength, 
but it is a severe dose for the plants, and hand picking is 
best on a small scale. Or a row of mustard may be sown 
between the rows, and the bugs will leave the cabbage for 
the mustard, when they can be destroyed with pure kerosene. 



126 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Winter cabbages always find a ready sale in our home mar- 
kets, and might be made a profitable adjunct to the garden."' 

ONIONS. 

Twenty-five years ago these vegetables were grown at 
the South almost exclusively from "button" onions, or from 
"sets," small onions, about the size of a swallow's egg, both 
of which were imported from the North. 

We have found it to be just as easy to raise fine, large 
onions from the seed as from sets or buttons, and that if seed 
or sets are wanted they can be grown here just as well as at 
the North. 

Let the ground be well plowed or spaded and enriched — 
there is no danger of getting it too rich, provided the manure 
is well rotted — then harrow and roll with a light roller. Ap- 
plications of ashes, salt, lime, bone dust and gypsum or sul- 
phur will supply nearly all the chemical elements this crop 
requires. 

Peruvian guano (which is much richer in phosphates and 
nitrates than the droppings from domestic poultry) , mixed 
with pulverized charcoal and bone meal is highly recom- 
mended, but we have found no difficulty on good rich clay or 
loam soil fertilized with well rotted cow manure and chips and 
sawdust from the woodpile, with some ashes, in growing 
crops of fine, large onions, both from seed and sets, without 
using any of the more expensive fertilizers enumerated above. 

Plant or sow in February or March, as soon as the 
weather will permit, putting the rows 12 to 15 inches apart. 
If buttons or sets, put them from 4 to 6 inches apart in the 
rows, or if seeds are sown drop them about an inch apart. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 127 

When as large as pipe stems thin out to 3 or 4 inches apart, 
transplanting those pulled out to other beds. 

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station finds 
that transplanted onions yield about 15 per cent more of 
marketable size than those not transplanted. It will be well, 
therefore, to have other ground ready on which to set the 
surplus plants. 

Be sure your seeds are fresh ; old onion seed will not vege- 
tate. Test them by sprouting a few, keeping them damp in 
a shallow dish set in a warm place. If good they should 
show sprouts in thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Buy your 
seeds only of reliable seedsmen. In fact, buy all your seeds 
of such parties, you will find their advertisements in the back 
part of this book. 

Never sow onion seeds broadcast, as they cannot then 
be properly hoed. 

If you intend to work onions with plow or cultivator, 
the rows must be 2 feet apart, but for hoe culture 12 to 15 
inches is enough. The best hoe is one that has a long, nar- 
row blade, not more than 2 inches wide, running to a point 
at one end, the other having a chopping edge, the handle 
being in the middle. Such a tool as this is invaluable in 
onion culture, for working up close to the rows ; the middles 
can be worked out with plow or cultivator or a common 
broad bladed hoe. Do not work onions deep, do not cut 
away the side roots. 

Onions should not have the earth hilled up about them; 
work it away rather than towards the plants ; they are said 
to grow larger and keep better thus. 



128 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

It is easy to keep a large onion patch clean with hoes of 
the pattern described, but grass and weeds in the rows must 
be pulled out by hand. 

Onions can be grown year after year on the same ground 
and the crop does not deteriorate. They have been success- 
fully grown in Europe for over lOO years on the same land 
every season. Of course if this is done, the strength of the 
soil must be kept up by applications of fertilizers. 

We have found the Yellow Globe Danvers onion a very 
satisfactory sort, but the large Red Globe is also a strong 
grower and produces and keeps well. 

We prefer the globe shape to the flat, as they are better 
keepers and with us produce larger crops. 

The onion is an easy plant to raise from the seed if the 
ground is made rich, they are sowed early, worked and 
weeded well, and given plenty of room in the rows; from a 
late sowing it is almost impossible to get a stand. In hot 
weather the seeds, although fresh, are hard to germinate. 

To raise seed, set out either in the spring or fall some of 
the largest and best onions of the black seed varieties and 
harvest the seed when they begin to turn black in the pods, 
when they should be carefully dried. 

By planting "button" varieties you get buttons on the 
top of the seed stalks in place of seed. 

To raise "sets," sow black seed thickly in rows 4 to 6 
inches wide, rows i foot apart, in poor soil ; work a little 
between the rows, but let the onions grow thick together, 
weeds and all, and they will be stunted and small, and should 
be kept when harvested in some dry place where they will 
not freeze, and will be as good for late fall or early spring 
setting as any Northern grown sets. From 4 to 5 pounds of 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 129 

black seed are required to sow an acre, and of the buttons 
or sets from S to 12 bushels, depending on their size. 

From 300 to 600 bushels of onions per acre of the black 
seed variety are the usual crop. At say 450 bushels to the 
acre, and raised at a cost of about $25 and the crop sold at 
only 50 cents per bushel, $200 net per acre is gained, which 
is a good return. It is said that by sowing the seed in a hot- 
bed in January and transplanting when the plants are as 
large as pipe stems, a much earlier crop can be had and the 
yield is found to be increased. 

TO KEEP ONIONS THROUGH THE WINTER. 

It is a little more difificult to keep onions after they are 
ripe, at the South than at the North, but with proper care 
they keep perfectly. If spread on a floor, even in thin layers, 
they are apt to rot. 

We have found the best method to be to tie them in 
bunches of about a dozen, and hang them on nails in a shady 
and airy place in an open shed or barn. Keep them there 
until the weather begins to get cold then cut off the tops and 
put them in large paper bags, leaving out any that are soft 
or sprouting; the bags should then be hung up in a dry, 
cool, frost proof cellar, or fruit house, such as we have de- 
scribed on another page. 

We should advise, however, to get your onions into 

market as early as possible; as soon as you can get a good 

price for them sell them, as a dollar a bushel in the summer 

or fall is a much better price than the same rate in the winter 

or the next spring. The waste from drying out, rotting and 

sprouting, will inevitably be considerable, either at the North 

or the South. 
P9 



130 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

(W. F. M.) "When well grown on suitable soil there 
is no garden crop that promises more benefit to the Southern 
market grower than onions. Either for shipping bunched 
when half grown or as an early ripened crop they are very 
profitable. Formerly, the impression was general in the 
South that onions could not be grown to full size in our 
climate the first season from the seed, and that it was essen- 
tial to use sets of the previous year's growth for planting the 
crop. This is now demonstrated to be an error, for as good 
onions can be grown in the South the first year from the seed 
as can be grown anywhere, provided the seed are sown early 
enough. But for the early crop for bunching green in March 
we are satisfied that it is better to plant sets in the fall. If 
we could always be sure of growing weather in the early fall 
as good results could be had from sowing the seed in Sep- 
tember or October. But the weather is so apt at that time 
to be dry and unfavorable to germination that sets are far 
more certain. But for a crop of ripe onions we can always 
produce a better crop from the seed than from sets, 

"Onions, like sweet potatoes, can be grown year after 
year on the same land, provided it is kept heavily fertilized 
with stable manures, but if only commercial fertilizers are 
used, an occasional crop of peas turned under between crops 
will be needed to keep the soil supplied with the humus es- 
sential to the success of the onion crop. In the North the 
onion crop is largely grown on the peaty soils of reclaimed 
swamp lands, but for the early crop in the South we should 
select higher and dryer soil. A loam more inclined to sand 
than clay is best, and the best crops cannot be had until the 
land has been cultivated in the crop and well manured for 
several years. No crop suffers more readily from lack of 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 131 

cultivation than the onion. The plants will not thrive amon^ 
weeds and grass, so that 'clean as an onion bed' has grown 
into a proverb. 

"We will speak first of the fall planting of sets for the 
green onion crop. The soil should be in the finest possible 
order, and furrows run as closely as will admit of mule cul- 
ture. In these furrows the fertilizer is scattered, a high grade 
article, at the rate of not less than 1,000 pounds per acre. 
Two furrows are then lapped over the first ones, and the 
ridges thus made are flattened by a roller or chopped down 
with a hoe. On the flattened bed thus made a line should 
be stretched, by which a shallow mark should be made for 
planting. The sets are then planted by hand on this mark, 
and just barely inserted in the soil. The bedding is impor- 
tant as it puts the fertilizer just where wanted and the slight 
elevation above the general surface is a protection from winter 
rains. It also enables us to cultivate more readily with horse 
power among the small plants. The planting should be done 
in October, and little need be done, except to keep the plants 
clean, till cold weather sets in, and to cultivate well as soon 
as growth fairly begins in February. This crop should be 
ready to ship in March, tied in bunches of five or more, and 
packed in barrels, with most of the tops left on. As soon as 
they are off, the land can be put in order for the crop of 
snaps, which can be followed by peas, to be cut for hay, and 
prepare the soil for the next fall crop of onions. Grown in 
this way, the manure applied to the onions will carry the 
other crops, and the soil will be accumulating humus from 
the bean vines and the pea stubble, and no stable manure 
being used there will be annually fewer weeds. 



132 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

THE CROP FROM SEEDS. 

"There are two methods of growing onions from the 
seed the same season. One is to sow the seed in frames in 
January and transplant the young plants later on. The other 
is to sow the seed where the plants are to grow in February. 
Some varieties of onions will make a much heavier crop by 
being sown under glass and transplanted, while with other 
sorts it is of no particular advantage, except in earliness. 
The sorts mainly benefited by this practice are the Italian and 
Spanish varieties. Though apparently a laborious method, 
it is little more so than the thinning of the crop grown in the 
open air. The variety best adapted to this method of culture 
is the large pale yellow sort known as the Prize Taker. This 
fine onion will produce superb crops when grown in this way. 
The seed are sown quite thickly in the frames, and when 
well hardened are dibbled in rows marked on heavily manured 
and flattened ridges as heretofore advised for other plants. 

"There is no difficulty whatever in transplanting young 
onion plants. The same character of soil and the same fer- 
tilization advised for the fall crop will answer for this crop. 
The only difference between this crop and that from seed, 
direct in the open ground is that the seed are sown in this 
case at the time the plants would be transplanted. For most 
sorts we rather prefer in this climate to sow the seeds where 
they are to grow. If this is done as early as the ground can 
be worked in the spring the crop is as certain as any other 
vegetable. Plenty of seed should be used to secure a full 
stand, and they should be carefully thinned, so as to give 
room for full development of the bulbs. The great advantage 
in sowing on a slightly elevated ridge is that the crop can be 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 133 

easily worked by horse power, and it is easy in laying by the 
crop to work the soil away from the bulbs, for the onions 
should mature on top and not in the ground. 

"The mature crop of onions in the South should be 
shipped as soon as ripe, so as to get into the market before 
the Northern crop does, and thereby command a better price. 
Few varieties grown here can be relied upon to keep well, 
though some will do so, and these sorts can be profitably 
grown for the home market, and better prices usually be had 
than for those that are shipped, to a limited extent. 

VARIETIES. 

"The varieties of onions are very numerous. The ear- 
liest are the Italian sorts and the Spanish onions usually 
grown in Bermuda and sold as the Bermuda onion. The 
earliest onion of fair size is the Queen. The ordinary stock 
of the Queen is by no means a large onion, but there are 
special strains of the Queen that attain a very good size. 
Tait's Extra Early Queen we have found to be a fine strain, 
very early and of fair size. It is a beautiful while flattish 
onion, but not as flat as the Bermuda. We have never been 
able to see any difference between this and the sort that has 
been of late years sold under the name of Pearl, and we be- 
lieve the Pearl is only the Queen under another name. The 
Prize Taker is a very large, globular, yellow onion that has 
become quite popular of late. It certainly makes fine crops 
under good culture and is the best of all for starting under 
glass and transplanting. It is one of the most salable of 
onions and should be largely grown. It will not keep when 
grown South. Giant Rocca is a very large late onion of a 
reddish brown color. It is one of the Italian sorts, and though 



134 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

a big cropper we do not consider it very valuable. It is, 
however, a better keeper than most of the Italians. For a 
good cropper and a handsome globe-shaped onion, as well 
as the best of keepers, we have found the Southport White 
Globe unsurpassed. The bulbs are as sound and solid as a 
baseball, and they keep perfectly, even when grown in this 
climate. We have by no means exhausted the list of varie- 
ties, but these comprise the most valuable. The Queen will 
be found best for the fall crop from sets or for the earliest 
crop from spring sown seeds. The Potato onion or Multi- 
plier is always grown from fall planted "sets, as it does not 
make seeds. There are two varieties, the white and the 
yellow. The white sort is now much planted for early green 
bunching onions and both are used for an early ripe onion. 
The yellow sort is a very poor keeper and must be sold as 
• soon as ripe; the white keeps a little better. The White 
Potato onion promises to be one of the very best for the early 
bunching crop. 

GROWING ONION SETS. 

"For growing sets the soil must not be so rich as for 
growing the onion crop and the sowing should not be so 
early, the object being to get as small well matured sets as 
possible. The seed are sown in drills in April in light, mellow 
soil and very thickly, not less than 20 pounds of seed per 
acre. As soon as ripe they are taken up and cured with the 
tops adhering to them, and kept with the tops attached till 
selling or planting time. Sets of the Queen must be planted 
in the fall, as they will not keep for spring planting. Seed 
for growing sets should be home grown, or at least not grown 
north of Philadelphia, as seed grown in the far North will 
not make good sets." 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 135 

ASPARAGUS. 

This vegetable is an excellent shipping product and is 
produced in the South of fine size and flavor, and can be 
made here in every respect a commercial success, with as little 
expense and trouble as anywhere in the United States. 

Plants are grown from seed, or can be obtained from any 
nurseryman, ready to set out in permanent beds. The beds 
should not be more than 4 feet wide so that trampling upon 
them may be avoided. 

Previous to making the beds the ground should be 
worked deeply, either by plowing, both with turning and sub- 
soil plows, or by digging and trenching, filling the trenches 
with an ample supply of well rotted manure. A large amount 
of fertilizing material is all important in asparagus raising, 
as the beds once established last twenty or thirty years, and 
the vigor of the plants and size of the edible shoots depend 
greatly upon the richness of the soil. A shady place is to 
be avoided, as the plant likes the sunshine, and comes earlier 
where the location is sheltered, warm and sunny. Forty-six 
inches will be found a convenient width for beds, with a path 
36 inches wide between them. Set the plants 8 inches from 
the outside edge of the bed, 12 inches apart in the rows, and 
let the rows be 15 inches apart. The crown of the plant 
should be set so it will be covered 2 inches deep with earth. 

Give the beds a good, heavy top dressing of well rotted 
manure each fall, after cutting off the dead canes, and in the 
spring sprinkle with salt or pour on brine, which will tend to 
keep down weeds, and is beneficial to the plant. 

In marketing, cut the shoots off when 6 or 8 inches long, 
having them of uniform length, tie them in bundles 3 inches 



136 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

in diameter, and pack in the ordinary one-third bushel cases, 
such as peaches are shipped in. There is an almost unlimited 
market for early asparagus in Northern markets, as it comes 
in before any other vegetables, unless it may be onions, or 
hotbed products ; in fact the growing of asparagus in hot- 
beds or cold frames will pay admirably, as it can then be got 
into market fully a month earlier than by open air culture. 
An acre in asparagus, well set and manured, would help 
many a poor man to lift a mortgage, or build a fine, new 
barn, or a young man to get money enough to take him 
through college. The shipping facilities, however (by express 
or fast freight), must be good. 

When once established, an asparagus bed is good for 
almost, if not quite, an ordinary lifetime, and will be a con- 
tinual and sure crop, costing almost nothing for the yearly 
care given it. 

We have found it a good plan to put a boxing of 6 or 8 
inch plank about the beds, as this keeps the manure which is 
given them each fall from being washed away by heavy winter 
and spring rains. This, of course, can be omitted in field 
culture. 

An ideal soil for asparagus is a deep, rich, sandy loam, 
which should, however, be still more enriched as above. In 
field culture single rows are best, giving plenty of room for 
working with the plow, and the more room the roots have 
and the richer the soil is made, the stronger the plants will 
grow, and the larger the shoots will be. 

The kinds best known are Conover's Colossal, an excel- 
lent variety; Palmetto, extensively grown by Southern 
planters; and the Columbia Mammoth White, producing very 
large, white shoots. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE, 137 

The roots cost from 75 cents to $1 per hundred, and 
the seed from 50 cents to$i per pound. In shipping young 
asparagus plants, it is highly important that they be not 
packed in barrels, a great many together, as they are very 
liable to heat and spoil, killing the plants if long on the road. 
They carry better if packed in small, shallow boxes. 

GROWING OF ASPARAGUS PLANTS. 

(W. F. M.) "Asparagus plants are grown from the 
seed and should be a year old before planting in their perma- 
nent quarters. Two-year-old plants are sometimes recom- 
mended, but well grown one year plants are far better. To 
grow the plants a piece of very fertile and mellow soil is best, 
in fact, to produce first-class roots a rich soil is essential, and 
it is hardly possible to overdo the manuring and preparation 
of the seed bed. The common practice of those who grow 
these plants for sale is to sow the seed far too thickly, the 
object, of course, being to get all the plants possible out of 
the land. It is, therefore, always best to grow your own 
plants, and to grow them well, for one well grown plant will 
give better results than half a dozen stunted -ones. Sow the 
seeds as early as the ground can be gotten in good condition 
in February, in rows about a foot apart. Thin them if too 
thickly crowded, and transplant the thinnings to other rows. 
They are very easily transplanted in an early stage of growth, 
and the transplanted ones often surpass the others in growth. 
It is important to keep the seed bed clean and well worked, 
for if neglected and allowed to get stunted the plants will be in- 
ferior and it will take a longer time to get the plantation into 
a profitable state of productiveness. It will require 10,000 
plants to set an acre, and 2 pounds of good seed ought to 



138 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

produce them. But in the matter of seed it is always best 
to be on the safe side and use a plenty, so as to be prepared 
for accidents. Therefore, it will be better to sow 3 pounds 
of seed for each acre to be set in plants. 

PLANTING. 

"An asparagus plantation is expected to last twenty 
years or more. The preparation of the soil should, therefore, 
be of the most thorough character. A warm, sandy soil is 
the best, and one which has for some years been cultivated 
in garden crops and heavily manured is greatly to be pre- 
ferred to a fresh soil, no matter how heavily manured specially 
for this planting. But at no period of its growth must the 
crop be allowed to lack for manuring, for only in very rich 
soil can first-class shoots be grown. There is far more in 
fertility of soil in asparagus culture than in the variety. Any 
variety will make good crops with heavy manuring; no va- 
riety will do so without it. The land should be prepared in 
the most thorough manner, and furrows opened 4 feet apart, 
by going twice in a furrow with a turning plow, and then 
cleaning it out with shovels to a depth of 8 inches at least if 
the object is to grow white asparagus, but if the green shoots 
are wanted the roots should not be more than 3 or 4 inches 
under the surface. Some markets demand that the shoots 
be cut under ground, so as to have them blanched, but the 
tendency now is toward the more tender, green asparagus. 
Another advantage in not having the roots too deep is that 
they will start earlier than those set deeply. In the bottom 
of the furrow scatter coarse raw bone at the rate of 1,000 
pounds per acre, the slow decomposition of which will tend 
to maintain the fertility of the soil longer than most other 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 139 

fertilizers. The plants should be set with their roots spread 
out in a natural position, and about a foot apart in the row. 
Some growers insist upon much wider planting, even as far 
apart as 3 by 6 feet, but I have never failed to get just as 
good asparagus at the distances given, and a great deal more 
per acre, and at less expense. It is heavy manuring which 
makes fine asparagus, and not square feet. In setting the 
plants be careful to cover the crown of the root not more 
than 2 inches at first, as the first shoots from the young roots 
are not strong enough to force through a deep mass of earth. 
Gradually fill the furrows as the shoots advance in growth. 
Thorough, clean culture is essential at all times. As the 
plants get into a blooming age much trouble will be saved 
by digging out all the seed bearing plants, as they tend to 
fill the soil with young plants. These are generally few in 
number, as the male plants are usually in a large majority. 
It is of no use to manure the plantation in the fall, when the 
roots are dormant. All manuring should be done in late 
winter, just before the plants begin to shoot. Use heavy 
dressings of stable manure, if to be had, otherwise use a high 
grade fertilizer, and on alternate years apply half a ton of 
kainit per acre. This will furnish the salt which the plant 
seems to like, and potash too. The salt is of more use in 
keeping down weeds than as manure for the plant. It can 
stand an amount of salt that the weeds cannot. If well cared 
for the cutting may begin the third season. 

CUTTING AND SHIPPING. 
"The roots should be cut well down to the crown of the 
plant, but care must be used to run the knife down close 
beside the shoot, so as to avoid injury to the other shoots. 



140 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

A knife made for the purpose is best. A machine is used 
for bunching, in which the shoots are placed with the tops 
all pressed evenly against a board, then clamped tight by a 
treadle and two flat ties of rafia or bast tied around. The 
butts are then cut evenly with a sharp knife and the bunch 
is ready to pack. 

"The bunches should be packed upright in crates just 
deep enough to allow a layer of moss under and over them." 

CELERY. 

This vegetable will bring money into the hands of the 
market gardener in the late fall, and if he provides himself 
with a cellar to house it in, in the winter and early spring ; 
and with care it can be as easily raised in the South as in 
Michigan. 

Celery seed is a very small seed and somewhat difficult 
to generate unless handled properly. It should be sown in 
April in a rich, friable soil, avoiding the use of strong heating 
manures. It is recommended, however, to give the seed a 
bottom heat by putting a layer of fresh stable manure 6 or 8 
inches below the surface of the ground, and making the top 
soil rich with old well rotted manure. Sow the seed in drills 
watering daily and shade partially from the hot sun until the 
plants are up. Unless the bed is well shaded and watered, 
the seed will not vegetate. 

Enough plants can be grown in a seed bed 3 by lo feet 
for an acre of ground, an ounce of seed producing about 
3,000 plants. At the North the plants are usually grown 
under glass in hotbeds, but we do not find this either neces- 
sary or desirable at the South. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 141 

The plants will generally be large enough to transplant 
about the first of September, and this will be soon enough, as 
nothing is gained by earlier planting. When set at this time 
plants get established and are ready for their fall growth and 
are mature in November, December and January when this 
vegetable is most in demand. 

Ground that has in the spring borne a crop of peas, 
beets, onions or cabbage, is suitable for celery. Dig or plow 
thoroughly, leaving the surface free from weeds, and level. 
Lay off the rows 3 feet apart and set the plants 6 inches 
apart in the row, pressing the dirt firmly about them. It is 
best always to set the plants late in the evening, and if the 
weather is warm and dry, water should be poured in the holes 
and dry earth raked in finally, so that the ground may not 
bake. It is well in hot weather to shade the plants the next 
day while the sun is on them, removing the shade at night. 

The old plan for growing celery was to plant it in the 
bottom of a trench, but this mode is now almost entirely 
discarded, as better results, larger and better growths are 
secured by following the plan given here. 

Nothing is necessary after having transplanted the crop, 
excepting to keep it free from weeds by occasional hoeing, 
until about the first of October, when the "earthing up" 
should be commenced, drawing the soil about the plants with 
a hoe and then with the hand lifting the leaves of the plant 
and "firming" the earth about it, so that the stalk stands 
erect. 

This process is repeated as the plant grows, the banking 
up being done finally with a spade or shovel and the plant 
will at last be nicely blanched, tender and ready for market. 



142 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

The giant varieties are not recommended for planting, as 
they take more room and handhng, and are not of as fine, 
sweet and nutty flavor as the smaller or medium varieties. 

As cold weather comes on, make narrow trenches the 
exact depth of the stems of the celery, which should then 
be dug and placed upright in these trenches, packing the 
plants close together so that the tips of the green tops alone 
come to the surface. If very cold weather comes on, a cov- 
ering of hay, straw or leaves will be necessary, but usually 
no covering will be required. If covered at all, it is best that 
this be done gradually so that the heat generated by the 
close packing of the celery may pass off; failing in this, de- 
cay is apt to take place. 

It is a mistake to suppose that celery can only be grown 
on wet land; it does well on any good, rich soil. Black sandy 
or chocolate sandy land that is rich in humus is excellent for 
this plant, but it will also flourish on rich clay or loam soils. 
Mineral substances and fertilizers, however, such as coal 
ashes or fresh wood ashes, or lands impregnated with iron 
should be avoided, as they tend to rust and spot the young 
blanching shoots and leaf stalks. 

Fresh stimulating niamires also should not be used about 
or on the plants, either when they are growing or being 
banked tip, or the plants will rot. 

The following is the old or English method, copied from 
a leading horticultural journal, which we give so that our 
farmers may experiment with it. The growing of celery at 
the South being still a new enterprise, it is well that different 
plans be tried to secure that best suited for our different loca- 
tions and climates, for climate and soils vary greatly at the 
South. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 143 

THE OLD PLAN. 

"Good celery can be grown on almost any soil, except 
very light and sandy, or with a porous, leachy subsoil. The 
best soil, when it can be had, we think, is a black, peaty mold, 
such as would be obtained by thoroughly draining a swale. 

"Dig trenches about 8 inches deep and i8 wide; place 
the earth taken out of the trenches on each side. Put about 
4 inches of well rotted manure at the bottom of the trench, 
and mix it by the fork with the earth below. Then throw on 
about I inch of earth first taken from the trench, and rake it 
nice and smooth. This trench is wide enough for a double 
row of plants, lo or 12 inches apart, and 8 inches apart in 
the rows. The trenches should be 5 or 6 feet apart. 

"From the middle of June to the first of July (a much 
later date than this is better at the South), is the time for 
setting the plants in the trenches, for the main crop. Many 
fail in raising good celery because they set out poor, spind- 
ling plants. Their height is a matter of very little conse- 
quence, if they are only strong, stocky, vigorous plants. 
Celery cannot be called good unless it is well bleached, at 
least 18 inches, and is solid, crisp and perfectly white. 

"The soil should be kept loose around the growing 
plants, and a little earth may be added occasionally, so as to 
keep the leaf-stalks in an upright position, but we would not 
earth up the crop for blanching until the weather becomes 
cool in the fall, say about the latter part of September or 
early in October. If the soil is too long in contact with the 
stalks they become tough, and the quality is much injured. 
All injured or broken stalks must be removed before earthing. 
Then hold the stalks carefully together with one hand, and 



144 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

place the earth carefully around them, but not so high as to 
permit it to get into the center of the plant. The soil should 
be first well pulverized, and the earthing should never be done 
on a wet day, or when the soil is very moist. It will be 
necessary to repeat this once or twice. 

"The rust has only occasionally troubled us, and in those 
cases we have had no difficulty in ascertaining the cause, and 
consequently the cure. Earthing up when the soil or the 
plants are wet, and permitting the earth to get in between 
the stalks are the principal causes. We have several times 
used two pieces of horseshoe drain tile for blanching, and 
sometimes with very satisfactory results, when the earth was 
only placed just high enough to keep the tile in place. 
Occasionally, however, they have rotted badly. 

"Those who plant celery in our cities and villages gen- 
erally obtain their young plants from the seed stores, and it 
is no wonder that they cannot raise good stalks. The plants 
are puny, miserable things, forced in a hotbed, and grown so 
thick that they are slender and worthless. Everyone can 
raise his own plants well, by sowing the seed about the 
middle of April, in a warm situation. Sow in drills about 
half an inch deep and 10 or I2 inches apart, and quite 
thin. After sowing, if the weather is dry, watering must be 
freely resorted to. After the plants come up keep the ground 
well hoed and all weeds well destroyed, and thin them out 
so that they will have plenty of room to grow without being 
crowded. Every dry spell water thoroughly, and do not 
allow them to become checked in their growth, as nothing 
injures celery plants so much as this. When once stunted 
they never recover." 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 145 

There is no reason why celery may not be made a 
profitable crop. All through the northern half of the Southern 
States we have many localities especially favorable for the 
growth of this plant. 

One thing especially in favor of celery culture here is 
that there is always a splendid home market for it in the 
towns and cities of the South, with all the leverage of the 
long freight haul in favor of the Southern grown article, as to 
price and profit. 

(W. F. M.) "There has of late been a great increase 
of interest in the celery crop of this State, This is not a 
crop with which we can hope to compete with the Northern 
growers for the Northern markets, but there is a large 
market in all the Southern cities for good celery, which our 
home growers should supply. Accounts published in the 
agricultural journals from time to time in regard to the great 
development of the cultivation of celery around Kalamazoo, 
Mich., have led many to inquire whether celery may not be 
grown, at least for our home markets, at a profit in competi- 
tion with other celery brought all the way from Michigan to 
North Carolina. 

" We would remark in the beginning that climatic con- 
ditions forbid that we should compete with the Northwestern 
growers in the production of blanched celery in summer. 
Celery is a native of a cool, moist climate, and cannot be 
made to develop here in our hot summer weather. But, on 
the other hand, our mild winter climate gives us an advan- 
tage in the culture of the winter crop, which makes it easy to 
grow here at a small part of the expense necessary at the 
North, where the crop must be lifted and stored for winter. 
At the prices at which celery usually retails in the markets 

P lo 



146 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

of Raleigh and other Southern cities, over $i,ooo worth can 
be grown on an acre of suitable and well cultivated land, 
the retail price here being nearly double this. The tall celery 
sent here in summer from Michigan is grown on a peculiar 
black, mucky soil, much of it absolutely boggy, to such an ex- 
tent that horses cannot be used, and all the work of the crop 
is done by hand power. The cultivators there are Hollanders, 
who delight in such a soil. While this black muck land 
grows the most showy celery, it is really of inferior quality 
to that grown on good clay soil in the cooler season of the 
year. Celery is one of the most expensive and laborious of 
crops that can be grown, and any attempts to grow it with- 
out a liberal expenditure in the shape of manure and labor 
will certainly result in a failure to get a crop worth market- 
ing. In this latitude it should always be grown as a second 
or third crop on the land for the season. It succeeds best 
on land that has been heavily manured for the early crops, 
and has a surplus left over for the celery. No matter how 
rich your land may be in your estimation, you cannot grow 
good celery without further and liberal manuring. The land 
used by the Kalamazoo celery growers is black muck from 3 
to 10 feet deep, and yet they use immense quantities of 
manure upon it profitably. In a house garden here, the land 
intended for celery should be planted in early Irish potatoes 
or onions. These will come up in time to plant a crop of 
snap beans, and use them before it is time to plant the celery 
finally. The first to middle of September is plenty early 
enough to make the celery plantings in this latitude. Of 
course, the plants must be gotten ready sooner. If it is to 
be grown on a large scale for market, it can still follow on 
the same land from which the Irish potato or onion crop has 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 147 

been gathered, and on which field peas have then been sown. 
The peas can be mown in August and cured for cow feed, 
and the stubble turned over and prepared for the celery. 

RAISING THE PLANTS. 
"If only a few plants are wanted, it is much cheaper to 
get them from the North in June or July, and transplant them 
into a cool, moist soil a few inches apart to develop to the 
proper size for final transplanting. The plants can now be 
bought from the growers at the North for $2 per 1,000, and 
at this price are cheaper than can be grown here on a small 
scale. When a large lot of plants are wanted, prepare a bed 
of moist soil, as mellow in character as can be had. Use 
large quantities of manure and make it as fine as possible by 
chopping, rolling and raking. Then mark out shallow rows 
across the bed and scatter the seed thinly. Cover only so 
much as may be done by beating the bed over with the back 
of a spade. The sowing should not be done earlier than 
May. As soon as the bed has been sown and packed over 
with the spade, cover it with jute bagging or old gunny sacks. 
These, spread on the soil, will keep the surface moist and 
enable the seed to germinate freely. Care must be taken to 
lift the cover as soon as the seeds begin to germinate, and 
gradually inure them to the light by propping the bagging 
up on sticks to shelter them from the rays of the sun. A 
little shade will be a great help in carrying them through the 
summer. Screens made of building laths nailed an inch 
apart, and placed on posts high enough to work under, make 
an admirable shelter for the beds. 



148 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

TRANSPLANTING. 

"As soon as the plants are an inch or two high they 
should be transplanted into another bed about 2 inches apart 
each way. This will make them grow stocky and form a 
mass of roots that will enable them to stand the final trans- 
planting better. Celery is always best grown as a second 
crop on land very heavily manured for the early crop. Ad- 
ditions of fresh manure are apt to be harmful, though com- 
mercial fertilizers high in potash may be added profitably. 
As they grow rankly, the tops should be sheared once or 
twice before the final transplanting. If the young plants are 
brought from the North they should be transplanted in the 
same way into shaded beds. The final transplanting should 
never be done in this latitude earlier than September i, and 
for this reason we prefer to get plants from the North, sown 
later than we can get them to germinate well here. Some of 
the Kalamazoo growers now make a specialty of growing 
late celery plants for Southern planting, which they can do 
in their moist soil and cool climate better than we can. The 
final transplanting and growing of celery is the point in which 
the greatest difference comes between Northern and Southern 
culture. At the North, the growers are obliged to lift their 
crop in the fall and store in pits and cellars. They therefore 
grow it in single rows 3 or 4 feet apart, so that horse labor 
can be used when it is grown on a large scale. Here it is 
not necessary to lift the crop, and therefore we should grow 
it so as to earth it up most economically. The great dif- 
ficulty here in some winters is to keep it from growing all 
winter and running to seed. We therefore plant the celery 
in beds, because it is more economical of labor to earth up a 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 149 

bed than to earth up the same number of plants in single 
rows, and also because the single rows, earthed up, leave 
the sides of the narrow banks exposed to the sun, and warm 
up to such an extent that the celery is kept growing when we 
want it to become nearly dormant. We can accomplish this 
better in a broad, flat-topped bed, than we can in single rows. 
Planted as we plant celery, an acre will contain about 37,000 
plants. We set the beds 5 feet wide and of any convenient 
length, and where a number are planted, a space of 8 feet is 
left between the beds for the purpose of getting soil for earth- 
ing. The beds are never sunk, but planted upon the surface. 
The rows run crosswise of the beds, and are i foot apart, 
with eleven plants in each row, thus making them 6 inches 
apart in the row. 

THE PLANTING BOARD. 

"The planting board is used as a rapid means for keep- 
ing the rows uniform and straight, and to prevent the neces- 
sity for treading on the prepared land. It is made of an 
ordinary piece of i-inch plank, 12 inches wide and 6 feet 
long. The ends of this board are cut exactly square and 
notched, or cut, on each edge, beginning 6 inches from each 
end, and 6 inches apart. To use the planting board, we 
stretch a garden line along the edge of the proposed bed. 
The planting board is then laid exactly perpendicular to this 
line. A plant is then set at each notch of the board. The 
board is then moved so that the notches correspond with the 
plants already set, and care is taken to keep it exactly square 
with the line at the end. 

" Another row of plants is set at the notches on the 
side of the board, and this process is repeated until the 



150 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER* S 

whole bed is planted. In this way the rows are kept exactly 
straight both ways, and the bed will be 5 feet wide, with 
eleven plants in a row, and the rows i foot apart. The 
planter stands on the board in planting, and thus avoids dis- 
figuring the bed with footprints, 

CULTIVATION AND AFTER TREATMENT. 

" After planting, the only thing necessary for some 
time is to keep the beds well cultivated and free from weeds. 

" Celery is a plant which is native to marshes and wet 
lands, and never reaches its best development in our hard- 
baking upland red clay, though fair crops can be grown in 
moist seasons. When a choice of locations can be had, 
celery should always be planted in lowlands, where it is 
practicable to irrigate it in dry weather. Success will then 
be certain in almost any season. The black, peaty soils and 
swamp lands of eastern North Carolina are as fine celery 
lands as can be found anywhere. The soil should be as 
nearly perfectly level as possible, not only to facilitate per- 
fect irrigation, but also to prevent washing, for when a 
proper location is found, it is best to keep the celery patch 
in the same place year after year, only giving attention to 
the fact that it must be heavily manured every year, no 
matter how rich it may seem. In cultivating celery, at all 
times it is important that the plants should never be handled 
while wet with dew or rain, as such handling will cause the 
leaves to rust and turn yellow. As the celery grows, it will 
be found that the outer leaves will have a tendency to spread 
flat out upon the ground. To counteract this it will be 
found necessary to put it through what is called the handling 
process, about the first of October. This is done by putting 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 151 

earth enough around it to hold the leaves upright, and no 
more than is sufficient to do this should be used — for the 
final earthing up should be delayed here until November 
and December. Any attempt to blanch celery early in the 
fall in this climate will result in a hollow, rusty and inferior 
product. Christmas is about as early as we should expect 
well bleached celery, and from that time until March we can 
have it as fine as anywhere, in fact, better, in our opinion. 

"The first handling to put the celery in an upright 
position, should be made in October. We formerly used for 
this purpose two boards set on edge across the bed between 
two rows of celery and held nearly upright by pegs at each 
end. The earth was then thrown between the boards by two 
men standing on each side, who afterwards withdrew the 
boards so as to leave the soil in a ridge between the rows. 
We now do this in a simpler and better way. Provide two 
twine strings, 12 to 15 feet long, with a pointed peg tied to 
each end. Stick a peg opposite the end of a row and about 
a foot away. Then take one turn of the twine around each 
plant in the row, so as to draw the leaves into an upright 
position, and finally fix the other peg into the soil opposite 
the other end. With the second cord and pegs treat the 
next row in the same way. Now shovel the fine earth from 
the vacant spaces on each side of the bed between the rows, 
and then pack it tightly by hand against the plants. Use 
earth enough and no more, to hold them firmly in an erect 
position. Now untwine the strings and use them in the 
same manner on two more rows, and so proceed until all the 
bed is handled up. Be sure to do this when the celery is 
dry, as before suggested. In the subsequent earthing, 
if the celery has outgrown its upright position, it may be 



152 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

necessary at first to use the strings again, but if the spaces 
between the beds are kept finely cultivated it is usually 
sufficient to hold the plant in the hand while an assist- 
ant shovels fine earth around it. It is most important 
that the earth should be kept out of the heart of the plant. 
When the final earthing up for the bleaching is begun, care 
must be used to build up the outside of the bed at least 6 
inches wider than the rows are long, so that the 5 foot bed 
will be inclosed in a bank of earth fully 6 feet wide. Keep 
adding earth as the tops elongate, and finally, about Christ- 
mas, cover entirely over with earth, and cover with straw or 
forest leaves to keep the frost out. 

"As before intimated, while celery grows to a large 
size in the black, boggy soil of the Kalamazoo celery gar- 
dens, the best celery, so far as solidity and flavor are con- 
cerned, is grown on a moist clay loam. We have an 
abundance of black peaty soil in eastern North Carolina that 
will grow celery as large and showy as the Michigan lands, 
but those who have moist, loamy clay soil are very well situ- 
ated, particularly if located near a stream, so that irrigation 
can be practiced. 

"Numerous varieties are named in seedsmen's catalogues, 
but it is well to bear in mind that the dwarf celeries so popu- 
lar at the North, are not so well adapted to the Southern 
climate. Golden Heart is one of the best, and we have good 
reports of the Giant Paschal, but have not grown it, A good 
strain of the old Giant White Solid is hard to excel. Hen- 
derson's White Plume is liked by some, but we have never 
found it to do well here. Sandringham is a fine sort, inter- 
mediate between the dwarf celery and the giant. Celery is 
shipped tied in bunches of four or five stalks, packed in 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 153 

crates with damp moss. Celery grown here must seek its 
market in our towns or southward. We cannot compete with 
the Northern growers for the Northern markets." 

CUCUMBERS. 

We will suppose the reader has a truck farm near a rail- 
road station on a main through line running north and south, 
and so has good shipping facilities. 

We will also suppose he has provided himself with hot- 
beds or a greenhouse. These advantages being secured, let 
the seeds be planted in rich earth in the hotbeds, under glass, 
about the first to middle of March. The Early Frame or the 
White Spine are the leading early sorts. 

As soon as all danger from frost is over, say from the 
first to middle of April, when the first rough leaves are 
formed, transplant to the open ground. It is well, however, 
to have frames a foot square, 6 inches high, with glass or 
muslin tops, to put over the hills in case of subsequent cool 
nights or unseasonable frosts. With care in setting, the plants 
will be very little retarded by transplanting. They may, 
however, be raised in the hotbeds, in quart berry boxes, 
from which the bottoms have been removed, and these set as 
deep in the ground as the box is high. When the plants are 
large enough they are carefully lifted out and reset in the 
open ground, the growth not being stopped at all. 

The outdoor bed should be very deeply plowed, or 
trenched, and the hills should be made 6 feet apart each 
way, using in each a peck of well rotted manure well mixed 
with the other soil, and some guano or poultry droppings, 
which, however, must be placed in the bottom of the hill. 
Fresh horse manure should not be used, as it will burn out 



154 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

the plants. Instead of this, use well rotted fine cow manure, 
good compost or leaf mold, covering the manure with rich, 
mellow loam, mixed with leaf mold or rotted chip earth 
from the wood pile. 

Liquid manures are beneficial, such as guano or cow 
manure water, but should not be made too strong. The 
plants should be worked frequently until they begin to 
blossom and set fruit, and as soon as blossoming com- 
mences the ends of the shoots should be nipped off with the 
fingers, thus throwing the strength of the vines into the 
fruit, causing it to ripen earlier. 

If the yellow striped bug or the cucumber flea attack 
the vines fight them off with dry wood ashes, air slacked 
lime or land plaster, sprinkled on the vines when they are 
wet with dew, or cover the hills with boxes a foot square 
with millinet or mosquito net covers. Very soon, if the 
plants grow well, they will be too strong to be much affected 
by these insects. 

For shipment, cucumbers should be carefully and tightly 
packed in one-third bushel boxes, leaving out all those mis- 
shapen or imperfect. 

In places where farmers' shipping clubs exist, carload 
lots of mixed vegetable products such as cucumbers, snap 
beans, asparagus, early peas and strawberries can be for- 
warded by the club, securing carload rates ; but probably it 
may be best to ship the very earliest cucumbers by express, 
as the prices are then sufficiently high to make it pay. 

Information in regard to farmers' shipping clubs will be 
found on another page. 

A very early crop is the great thing with cucumbers; 
every effort should be made to secure this, as late cucumbers 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 155 

are very cheap while early ones bring good prices. Two to 
three pounds of seed plant an acre, or an ounce, sixty hills. 
The seed costs usually lo cents per ounce or 75 cents per 
pound, but it can be very easily saved by the farmer himself 
from the largest and earliest fruit, growing nearest the main 
stem. 

(W. F. M.) "The cucumber crop is one of importance 
to the Southern trucker, and a profitable one when gotten 
into market in good color and early. It is a crop in the 
forwarding of which in frames a much greater profit can be 
realized than from the mere planting in the open ground, for 
by the use of glass we get them into the Northern market as 
early as those south of us, who depend only on climate, and 
ours, getting to market in a fresh condition, will bring better 
prices. While cucumbers are largely grown in all the truck- 
ing sections of the South from seed planted in the open 
ground, and enormous quantities are shipped, the usual crop 
being about 1,000 bushels per acre, they have not been re- 
garded by our truckers as a very profitable crop, owing to 
the fact that before the crop of one section is marketed the 
warm weather has brought on the cucumbers of the growers 
a little north of the section, and their fresher condition shuts 
out those south of them. 

"It is by forwarding the plants, then, that we can best 
avoid this. The outfit of sashes and flower pots for forward- 
ing cucumbers and cantaloupes, which are treated in a simi- 
lar way, on a large scale, is a costly item, and this fact 
makes the practice all the more certainly profitable, as it 
prevents the competition of those who are ever ready to 
rush into the culture of a crop that does not cost much to 
grow. Aside from the sashes we must have a supply of pots 



156 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

of the 4 inch size. These are now made in large quantities 
by machinery at very low rates, and can be had, delivered 
in lots not less than i,ooo, for about i cent each, and, if 
properly handled, will last many years and be useful for 
many crops. 

"In preparation for forwarding the plants in pots, a full 
supply of compost for filling the pots must be prepared the 
previous fall by cutting grass sods and getting black mold 
from the forest, and piling them in layers with well rotted 
manure, putting about two-thirds sods and leaf mold and 
one-third manure. This must be turned and well mixed 
several times during the winter, and before using should be 
passed through a gravel screen to make it uniform and to 
remove all lumps and rough material. The pots are filled 
with this compost and set closely and perfectly level in 
frames, seed are scattered in each, and more compost is 
sifted over them to cover the seed. They are then well 
watered with a sprinkling watering pot until the entire soil in 
the pots is wet through, and the sashes are put on and kept 
close until the seeds germinate. Great care must be taken 
to exclude mice from the frames, and careful attention must 
be given to watering. As the seeds germinate careful atten- 
tion must be given to airing them on sunny days by slipping 
down the sashes more or less, according to the weather. If 
left shut up closely on a warm, sunny morning the tempera- 
ture may get so high under the glass as to seriously injure 
or destroy the plants. Equal care must be given to protect 
the glass in case of a severe night by having a plentiful sup- 
ply of pine or other straw at hand to cover the frames. As 
the plants develop, thin to two plants in a pot, and as the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 157 

weather grows warmer give more air and gradually inure 
them to full exposure. 

PLANTING. 

"The land into which the cucumbers are to be planted 
should be well prepared beforehand, and the hills marked out 
with a plow 5 or 6 feet each way, and a shovel or two full of 
manure or compost placed in each check just as in planting 
seed in the open ground. The plants in the pots should now 
be well watered, and then knocked out of the pots without 
breaking the ball of soil, and carried to the field in flat boxes. 
The knocking of a plant out of a pot is a very simple thing 
to an expert, but beginners are apt to make an awkward job 
of it. Have flat-topped stakes driven into the ground near 
the frames. A man takes a pot, turns it upside down on the 
palm of his left hand, with the stems of his plants between 
his fingers; then, with a smart tap of the edge of the pot on 
the top of the stake, the ball falls into his hand. The plants 
are set in holes made in the compost in the hills and the earth 
packed closely around the ball, and the whole is covered a 
little deeper than it grew in the pot. The subsequent culture 
is just the same as if seed had been planted in the hills. I 
have set plants in this way in bloom without the loss of a 
plant. 

"In raising the crop from seed in the open ground the 
only difference is to plant the seed in the hills a little earlier 
than it would be safe to set out the pot plants. Cultivation 
must be rapid, as the vines will soon stop it. The crop is 
laid by by bedding up to the plants with a plow. The same 
treatment will answer for muskmelons, and we will, there- 
fore, not repeat it for that crop. The hills should be made 
with a shovelful or two of compost of manure and black mold 



158 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

from the woods and a handful of high grade fertilizer sprinkled 
over it and covered with soil upon planting the seeds. 

VARIETIES. 

"The catalogues give long lists of cucumbers, but the 
truckers still adhere maJnly to the White Spine. A good 
strain of this variety is all that need be desired." 

TOMATOES. 

There is hardly any other vegetable raised at the South 
that when well managed gives better results than the tomato. 

The first thing to be considered is a good kind, the 
second, to grow them early. For market, one of the most 
important points is to secure a good shipping variety. Prob- 
ably as good a sort as any in this particular is the Stone. 
Other good kinds are the Buckeye, Beauty, Acme, Paragon, 
Perfection, Favorite and Ignotum. Some growers may for 
their localities prefer other sorts, but those named are all 
good market and shipping varieties. 

Of course tomato plants, North or South, should be 
raised in hotbeds or in a greenhouse to secure early fruit, 
and the seed should be sown about January i, and then be 
taken up and reset, giving them more room each time, until 
the weather will permit setting them out of doors, which will 
generally be from the ist to lOth of April. 

If the resetting has been properly attended to and they 
have had plenty of light and air when the weather was not 
too cool, they should by this time be large, stocky plants, 
just ready to blossom and the first fruit be ready for shipment 
the 1st to 15th of June. 

While it is well at the South to train the vines on some 
low support, such as parallel bars a foot apart, 18 inches 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 159 

above the ground, it is not well to train them high on poles, 
so that the hot sun can beat upon the crown of the roots, as 
this greatly shortens the time of their bearing, the vines dry- 
ing up and dying. If you have plenty of straw, mulch with 
this between the plants, and dispense with any bars or 
supports. 

Chickens, even young broods, should be kept entirely 
away from ripening tomatoes as they will destroy them as 
fast as they ripen. 

For shipment, tomatoes should be picked before they 
are fully ripe, in fact, just as they begin to turn, and packed 
tightly in one-third bushel crates. 

The growing of tomatoes is so well understood it will 
not be worth while to give minute directions here. The only 
points to be noted being that it is not best to manure toma- 
toes too highly, as the growth of vines is stimulated at the 
expense of fruit, and that when plants begin to blossom the 
center shoots should be nipped off, as the best and largest 
amount of fruit is produced upon the lateral branches, and 
this pruning also causes the fruit to mature more rapidly. 

(W. F. M.) "To the gardener who has a good outfit 
of greenhouse and frames, the growing of the early crop of 
tomatoes can be made one of the most profitable of all the 
crops of our Southern gardens. With the proper treatment 
it should be perfectly easy for the gardener in our eastern 
section to put his tomatoes in the market by the first week 
in June, and all tomatoes shipped up to the second week in 
July will usually bring good prices, if a good sort and in 
good order. In fact, we have had ripe tomatoes in the open 
air in Raleigh as early as the 25th of May. To get them 
thus ahead of their natural season requires glass, skill and 



IGO SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

attention, and this fact will always prevent the glutting of the 
markets, as is often done, with those vegetables that can be 
grown by anyone without these requisites. 

"Assuming, then, that the gardener has the necessary 
greenhouse, it is necessary to begin the sowing of the seed at 
least ten weeks before it will be safe to put the plants in the 
open ground. This means in our eastern section that we 
should sow the seed about the third week in January. For 
sowing the seed we use boxes or flats made usually by cutting 
an ordinary soap box in three flat boxes. These boxes, 
about 3 inches deep, are filled with the prepared compost 
recommended in potting cucumbers and melons. The seeds 
are sown thickly in the boxes and placed on the bench of the 
greenhouse close to the glass, and a night temperature of 60 
degrees is maintained. As soon as the plants are well up, 
and before they have made the second leaves, they are trans- 
planted to other boxes an inch or more apart, and when well 
established in these boxes the temperature at night is kept a 
little lower, say 50 to 55 degrees, and the boxes are kept as 
close as possible to the glass to prevent the plants from being 
drawn up with weak stems. The house must be well venti- 
lated during the daytime for the same purpose. Should the 
plants have a tendency to run up tall, the tops should be 
pinched out, but we prefer not to prune them at all, unless 
absolutely necessary. If 3-inch flower pots are at hand this 
first transplanting can be more profitably made by putting 
the plants in the pots, as experiments have proved that plants 
handled in pots are earlier than those handled in boxes. 

"By the ist of March the plants should be taken from 
the greenhouse and planted in cold frames about 4 inches 
apart each way. They should now have all the exposure to 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 161 

the outer air possible, only putting the glass over them at 

night and in cool, cloudy weather. The object is to get 

stout, short and well-hardened plants. By the ist of April, 

or sooner, the glass can be left off at all times, and the first 

week in April they can be set in the open ground. It is 

always best to get them out as early as practicable, even if 

they have to be protected from frost afterwards, which is 

easily done, for we have found that the earlier the plants are 

in the open ground and live, the earlier the crop. Last 

spring, as an experiment, we set out some tomato plants the 

17th of March. On the 26th of March the mercury fell to 

21 degrees, but we saved the plants without much trouble. 

Having warning from the weather bureau of the approach of 

the cold, we went to work and bent each plant to the ground 

and placed a wisp of straw on it, while an assistant shoveled 

the mound of soil over each. The plants went through the 

freeze unharmed and made the earliest fruit. As we seldom 

have, even in March, so great a degree of cold, it will be seen 

that it is easy to protect the plants with a shovelful of soil 

against any frost we may have after the ist of April. 

"These early plants seldom suffer from the Southern 

blight, which is so troublesome with the late crop here, but 

they are very subject to the rot. This can be warded off by 

the use of the Bordeaux mixture. The plants should be 

sprayed, as soon as set out, with the mixture at half strength, 

and the spraying should be repeated as they bloom and again 

as the fruit swells. We have not as yet proved that this 

spraying will prevent blight, since our experiment last year 

for this purpose was not conclusive, there being no blight on 

the sprayed or unsprayed plants, the planting being on ground 

where there had been no tomatoes grown before. 
p II 



162 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

"It IS always important to plant tomatoes here on land 
that has not had tomatoes, potatoes or melons on it for sev- 
eral years, as all of these are subject to the same blight. 
Tomatoes should be shipped as soon as they show signs of 
turning, for if allowed to get fully colored they will not arrive 
in good order. For the earliest it will pay to wrap in paper^ 
as they can be thus packed more securely, The packing 
should be in crates with the slats nailed rather close, as wide 
cracks will often cause the fruit to be badly cut. Culling 
should be very carefully done and no cracked or damaged 
fruit allowed in the crate. It is easy to make a reputation 
for a brand of anything, and in no vegetable is this of more 
importance than with the tomato. 

TOMATOES FOR WINTER. 

"We have for years been trying various ways to prolong 
the season in which fresh tomatoes may be had after frost, 
and have settled on the following as the best. The plan may 
also be made a matter of profit for shipping, for we have had 
the fruit in good condition at Christmas, when the price was 
25 cents per pound. About the ist of July we make cut- 
tings about a foot long from Vigorous vines that have made 
good, smooth fruit only. After a good rain these are set in 
well prepared soil nearly their entire length. At this season 
the soil is so warm that they root with the greatest certainty, 
and we seldom find one that fails to grow if the soil is moist 
and well packed about the base of the cutting. They are set 
at the same distance as plants, and are cultivated in the same 
manner. These plants will begin to ripen late in the fall, and 
will be full of well grown green fruit when frost arrives. When 
the first light frost nips the foliage the whole crop is gathered. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 1G3 

They are wrapped in paper, packed in crates and stored in a 
place where they will keep cool but will not be frozen. Any 
tight outhouse where the crates can be covered with straw in 
cold weather will answer. For family use a few are taken out 
at a time and put in a warm room to ripen for the table. 
We have them in this way until the middle of January nearly 
every year, in nice condition for slicing. If grown in quantity 
for shipping they should be overhauled from time to time 
and the ripening ones rewrapped and shipped up to Christ- 
mas, when the whole lot can be shipped, as they will sell 
even if not colored, as they will soon ripen up in a warm 
temperature, or it may be better to bring them into a warmer 
place to color before shipping," 

j PEAS. 

Early green peas are a good shipping crop at the South. 
Very few directions need be given for their culture, as they 
would be in the main the same as for any other part of the 
country. We recommend for early shipment the medium 
low early sorts such as all the leading seedsmen advertise as 
"Extra Early." 

While there is an advantage in dwarf varieties, as re- 
quiring no sticks, we have found this to be more than over- 
balanced by the superior yield of the medium low sorts. 

Most of the very early varieties will endure such light 
frosts as we sometimes have in the South in March, and the 
early part of April, so that it is well to plant as soon after 
the 1st of March as possible, or in the lower South the first 
to middle of February. Boards 12 feet long, 10 inches wide, 
nailed together gutter fashion, are very useful, forming 
covers to place over the rows on frosty nights. 



164 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

We recommend sowing the seed in furrows as broad as 
the blade of a hoe ; a larger crop can be gotten per acre in this 
way and the same amount of brushing serves as when they 
are planted in a narrow row. By this method 2^ to 3 
bushels of seed plant an acre, or 2 quarts to an 80 foot drill. 
Sticks can be dispensed with if the space between the rows, 
which should be about from 18 inches to 2 feet, is filled with 
leaves or straw. Peas should be well worked two or three 
times when the ground is not too wet, before they are 
brushed, or before straw is placed between the rows. 

In the extreme lower parts of the Southern States peas 
in some years do well planted in November, December, and 
so on until spring is fairly open, but cannot be relied on as 
an every year crop. 

In any case it is well to plant for a stand, or for a suc- 
cession, every ten days or two weeks. 

The later (and better) sorts, such as Champion of Eng- 
land, Strategem, Marrowfat, etc., should be planted deeply, 
3 or 4 inches is not too deep, quite as early or even earlier 
than the early sorts are put in the ground, say by the first to 
middle of March. By deep planting the peas will be found 
to be longer lived and bear better than if planted shallower. 
Peas may be planted for a succession for family use up to the 
1st of May at the South ; after that they do not grow or 
produce well, and as Lima beans and green corn are ripe just 
as peas sowed as late as ist of May are ready for use, they 
are not then relished as much as earlier in the season. We 
have not found late sown peas to succeed at all ; they grow 
spindling, and poor, and in fact amount to nothing as a crop, 
while early plantings, both of early and late ripening varie- 
ties, do admirably and bear heavy crops of delicious flavor. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 165 

Peas should be sent to Northern markets packed tightly 
in one-third bushel slat boxes, the same as peaches; care 
being taken in packing that the peas near the openings 
between the slats lie across the openings so that they will 
not shake through in transit. Peas will hardly pay to be 
sent by express excepting the very earliest ones, and advant- 
age should be taken by the forming of farmers' cooperative 
shipping clubs, to ship these, in connection with other early 
vegetables or fruits, at through carload freight rates. 

(W. F. M.) "Early English peas are one of the most 
important of the crops grown by the Southern trucker. Not 
that they are always very profitable, but being easily and 
quickly grown, they help out the variety and keep labor em- 
ployed in the early season. They are so easily grown on 
large areas that the crop is more apt to be overdone than any 
other except early potatoes. The sorts grown by our gar- 
deners are the extra early sorts and the later Marrowfats. It 
seems a little odd that the later peas are always sown earliest. 
The tall-growing Marrowfats, that need some support, are 
very commonly sown in large areas alongside the dead stalks 
in the cotton fields in November and early December, and 
allowed to cling for support on the dead stalks. The extra 
early sorts are sown on carefully prepared land in January 
and February, 

"The soil for peas should be light and warm. Land 
that has been well manured for a crop the previous year will 
need little manure to make a crop of peas, but it is a mistake 
to suppose that any soil is rich enough for them. They will 
pay as well for fair manuring as any. But no fresh stable 
manure should be used on the pea crop, as it induces too 
rank a growth of vine. A fertilizer with a small percentage 



166 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

of nitrogen and high in potash and phosphoric acid is best 
for them, and 300 to 600 pounds may be used, as to the fer- 
tility of the land. While peas are generally sown for early 
spring sales it has become quite common and profitable of 
late years to sow a crop of the extra early sorts in September 
for shipping in November. This fall crop often pays better 
than the spring one. 

"The crop is sown in deep furrows quite thickly, so as 
to make a broad row, the better to sustain itself, as market 
gardeners seldom brush their pea vines. Rather deep cover- 
ing is needed, to better enable the plants to resist the changes 
of the weather. Four feet apart is about the usual distance 
between the rows for early peas. 

"A good early pea for market purposes should be of a 
strain that makes vines of uniform development, and that 
ripen their crop all together, so that all can be gathered and 
shipped at once. There is a constant tendency in the early 
peas to revert to a taller and later type, and if the seed stock 
is not carefully 'rogued' of these reversions the whole soon 
becomes a sad mixture. At this station we have in past 
years made careful tests of many varieties. Most of the 
variously named extra early peas are Daniel O'Rourke, some 
better rogued than others. The strains sold under the names 
of 'Nonpareil,' 'Eclipse' and 'Hancock,' we have always 
found to be the earliest of the class." 

BUSH BEANS. 

The climate of the South in the spring and summer is 
eminently well suited to the growth of this vegetable. 

Bush beans can be planted the middle of March, if prep- 
arations are made to protect them at night from frosts, by the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 167 

use of inverted gutter shaped board covers. The bean is a 
very tender plant and will not stand frost, but as all danger 
from this source is past even in the more northern portions of 
the South by the middle of April, this vegetable can be 
ripened and put into Northern markets a month to six weeks 
earlier than those Northern grown. 

The Early Mohawk is the hardiest and earliest variety, 
and is very prolific. It is an old favorite. After these come 
the Early Speckled Valentine and the Dwarf Golden-eyed 
Wax bean, etc. Two bushels plant an acre, costing from $4 
to $5 per bushel. The broader sorts, such as the bush Limas, 
should always be planted with the eye down, as this is the 
natural way for them to grow, and if not planted in this 
position they are forced to turn over, and in so doing are 
liable to be snapped off, delayed in coming up and in many 
cases of rotting in the ground. The rows of bush beans 
should be 18 inches to 2 feet apart, and the soil, while mellow 
and friable, need not be very rich. 

In cultivating beans, either bush or pole varieties, let it 
be when the vines are dry ; working them when they are wet 
is said to cause them to rust. 

For family use it is well to plant a few rows, say five or 
six, 20 feet long, every two weeks during the spring 
and early summer months, before the Limas get into full 
bearing, that a succession may be had. Then in September 
plant again, and by replanting through the fall you can have 
nice snap beans until frost comes. 

Henderson's bush Lima bean has come into favor lately, 
being a week or two earlier than the Carolina (Sewee) pole 
Lima. It yields well all through the summer, throwing out 
new shoots and blossoming and bearing fruit until frost. 



168 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

The rows of these bush Limas should be put farther apart 
than those of ordinary bush beans, as their bearing season 
being so long, they need working late in the summer, and crab 
grass being at that time rampant, it is hard to keep it down, 
unless plenty of room has been given to work between the 
rows. A good plan in field culture might be to plant as ordi- 
narily; pick and ship the early fruit; and when crab grass 
begins to put in an appearance heavily, let it take the patch, 
and when well grown mow crab grass, beans and all for hay. 
It will make an excellent combined hay. In this case the 
cultivation of the beans should be as level as possible to 
facilitate the mowing. 

Early beans, whether of the ordinary "bush" varieties 
or the bush Limas, are a good shipping crop for the well 
located truck farmer at the South, and as they do not weigh 
heavily to the bushel the freight charges on them as well as 
on green peas are comparatively moderate. They should be 
shipped in one-third or one-half bushel crates, carefully 
packed crosswise of the slat openings. 

(W. F. M.) "Snaps are one of the leading crops of 
the Southern trucker. They need the lightest and dryest 
land of the farm, and the warmest exposures. They are 
more cheaply grown than any other crop of our gardens, and 
occupy the land but a short time, making a good succession 
crop to the early cabbage crop, without any more fertilization, 
and when the crop is gathered, the vines can be plowed under 
to fertilize the land and be followed by a crop of crab grass 
for hay. As the profit in them is mainly in the earliest, it 
pays the gardener to run some risk in order to be in among 
the earliest. It is therefore common to begin the planting 
by the middle of March, although there is serious risk that 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 169 

these early sown ones may be cut off by frost. But if they 
survive they pay better than later plantings. When planted 
on land especially prepared for this crop, manure of some 
kind must be used in the furrow. Some gardeners consider 
fresh stable manure best, but this is seldom available, and we 
consider it a mistake to use it on a leguminous crop like the 
bean. Beans do not need heavy manuring, and a dressing of 
500 pounds per acre of a high grade fertilizer, well mixed in 
the furrow, will be sufficient for them. Two furrows should 
be lapped over the manured furrow, the ridge thus made 
rolled flat and the seed drilled on this flattened ridge. A 
skilled hand can sow the bean in a shallow furrow very well 
in the absence of a seed drill, but drills of various kinds, both 
for hand and horse power, are essential to every well equipped 
truck farm. An ordinary cotton seed drill will sow beans as 
well as anything else. 

SHIPPING. 

"The green beans should be shipped in well ventilated 
bushel crates. The pickers must be instructed to pick the 
pods as soon as they are of fair size and before they are old 
enough to show the bulge of the seed. They must use both 
hands so as not to disturb the roots of the plants. The pack- 
ing in the crates must needs be done with care, as the beans 
shrink in transit and the crates should be full on arrival. A 
light sprinkling before packing will help in this matter, and 
the packing should be regular and firm and not a promis- 
cuous tumbling into the crate. 

"When the crop is gathered the vines should be at once 
plowed under, either for some succession crop, or for the 
natural succession crop of crab grass hay, which is one of the 
most valuable crops of the Southern market garden." 



170 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

POLE BEANS. 

First and foremost on the list at the South Is the pole 
Lima, and so far as we know, nothing as yet has surpassed or 
even equaled the Carolina or Sewee variety for earliness and 
productiveness. It is a vigorous grower as soon as the 
weather gets warm enough to favor it, a very prolific and 
sure bearer, and although the pods are small, the beans 
are so plump, sweet and satisfactory as to make them great 
favorites. This is the old reliable "butter bean" of the 
South. 

Lima beans (this is also true of other sorts) do not ex- 
haust the soil as other vegetables do, and are often planted 
at the South year after year on the same ground and the last 
crop is as good as the first. Still it should be noted that this 
plant does best on a rich, loamy soil, richer and heavier in 
fact than the snap or kidney beans require or thrive on. It 
is well therefore to give the ground a good top dressing of 
thoroughly rotted manure or compost at least every other year. 

Other varieties of pole beans, such as the Kentucky 
Wonder, Crease Back, Southern Prolific, etc., are good sorts, 
but are not as popular at the South as the Carolina Lima, 
which will stand any amount of hot, dry weather, keeping 
green and continuing to grow and bear successive crops until 
frost cuts it down. There are several other varieties of Lima 
beans advertised by the seedsmen, but those we have tried 
have thus far not proved as good as the old sort. We think 
it likely that having originated at the North they may be 
better suited to Northern climates than to the Southern. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 171 

TO DESTROY WEEVIL IN BEANS OR PEAS. 
Beans or peas for seed purposes may be kept from the 
ravages of weevils by putting them in a coarse cotton or linen 
bag, then dipping it into a kettle of boiling water, allowing 
it to remain there for two or three seconds only, and then 
thoroughly drying the seeds. 

SWEET OR SUGAR CORN. 

This is the variety that sells best in the early Northern 
markets, although the Extra Early Adams, which is white, 
but is not a sugar corn, on account of its being earlier than 
any other known variety, is largely grown. Following the 
Adams come in the sugar corns in the order we give them 
below, viz: Gary, Early Minnesota, Country Gentleman (or 
Shoe-Peg) , "Moore's Early Concord," and Stowell's Ever- 
green. We shall not take up time and space in giving here 
full directions for culture, as that is treated of under the head 
of field corn on page 51. 

We need only say that in order to secure a stand of 
early corn it is best to plant very thickly, as sometimes the 
grain rots before generating. It is a great deal better to thin 
out to a proper stand than to have to replant. It is well, 
however, after the first planting, which in the middle South 
should be about the 15th of March, to plant again in ten days 
in other hills between those first planted, so that if one is 
caught with late frost the other may succeed. 

Another plan recommended is to cut pieces of grass sod 
4 inches square, place them grass side down, side by side in 
shallow boxes in hot beds or a greenhouse, and on each of 
these sods plant' six to eight kernels of corn, cover with a 
little earth, thinning out to two or three plants when these 



172 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

sods with the growing corn have been transferred to the field 
or garden. Cucumbers can be started early in the same 
way, in fact, this plan can be used advantageously with many 
early vegetables. 

Sweet corn is ripe at the South from the ist of June to 
the 1st of July according to season, latitude and elevation; it 
being a well known fact that elevation counts largely as 
latitude where the mountain ranges sweep across the country^ 

TURNIPS. 

While this vegetable is not grown for shipment, it is of 
so much value and importance to the Southern farmer it de- 
mands attention. 

Turnips do best on a moist, rich soil ; well rotted cow 
manure being the best fertilizer. Sow in August or Septem- 
ber, preferably after or before a good rain. 

The best sorts are the globe, red top, purple top, strap 
leaf and the white flat Dutch for hill and uplands, with large 
white globe, large yellow globe, and rutabagas for rich bot- 
tom lands and for stock feeding. 

The land upon which turnips are to be sown should be 
deeply broken up with a two-horse turning plow early in 
July, following this just before seeding with thorough working 
with cultivator or harrows, a rotary harrow preferred, so that 
all weeds are killed and the surface soil is fine and light. 

The best mode to plant is to drill, but they are more 
frequently put in broadcast and brushed or lightly harrowed 
in. When drilled in, the drills should be from i6 to 30 
inches apart, according to variety and the tools to be used in 
cultivating them. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 173 

On good ground, where a good stand has been secured, 
they should be thinned out to from 4 to 10 inches in the row, 
and where properly cultivated, the yield is often enormous. 
When rype, they should be stored in frost proof root cellars 
or pits, and are an excellent ration after being sliced with a 
root cutter, for cattle, milk cows, calves, sheep or hogs. 

One and a half pounds of seed sow an acre, costing 
about 50 cents per pound. 

CARROTS. 

These, like turnips are not a shipping product at the 
5outh, but are valuable to the farmer and stock raiser, and 
where properly grown on rich, deeply broken ground, such 
3. heavy yield can be produced per acre as to make it quite a 
profitable crop, a yield of from 18 to 25 tons (600 to 800 
iDushels) having frequently been grown, per acre. 

Break ground for carrots deeply with two-horse turning 
plow, the deeper the better. This should be done the pre- 
ceding fall or winter, the ground being made rich with well 
rotted manure. There is no danger of getting it too rich, 
A mellow loam or sandy loam soil is best for this plant, and 
they should be well worked to keep down weeds and the 
ground mellow. The soil should be made fine and the seed 
planted in drills 15 to 18 inches apart, covering lightly with 
fine soil, which should be pressed down upon the. seeds to 
ensure their generation. 

It is important that carrot seed be sown early, as late 
sowings will not vegetate. It is recommended by some to 
sow at the South in October, or early in November; but as 
we have never tried this plan, we cannot tell how it would 



174 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

succeed. By sowing in March a good stand can generally be 
secured. 

Every farmer can easily save his own carrot seed by 
leaving some of the best roots in the ground, covering them 
in severe freezing weather in the winter. The next spring 
they will send up seed stalks plentifully, the best developed 
being saved when ripe. Two to three pounds of seed are 
required to plant an acre, costing from the seedsmen from 
85 cents to $1 per pound. • 

Carrots are an excellent food for horses, cattle (especially 
milk cows), sheep and hogs. It is best when fed they should 
be clean, free from sand and soil, and are best sliced and 
mixed with a light ration of meal or bran, and a good 
sprinkling of salt. 

BEETS. 

Early beets might be, but rarely have been, shipped 
from the South as a market crop. They are, however, a 
very acceptable vegetable for the farmer's own table, and 
where they can be shipped with other vegetables by a 
farmers' shipping club, at carload rates, will certainly in the 
early spring pay well. 

Ground upon which beets are to be grown should be 
thoroughly and deeply plowed the previous fall or winter,, 
and if not naturally rich should be made so by the use of 
good, thoroughly rotted manure, or a good dressing of wood 
ashes. 

The drills should be from 15 to 18 inches apart, and 
the plants thinned to 6 inches in the rows. In planting it is- 
well to water the seed in the drills, then cover lightly with 
dry rich soil, pressing it down with the hoe or a board. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 175 

The best varieties for table use are the early turnip- 
rooted blood and the early Bassano. For field culture for 
stock feeding, the kinds recommended are the sugar beet, 
the mangel-wurzel and the golden tankard, the latter not at all 
suitable for table use, but valuable as stock food in the winter. 
Four to five pounds of seed are required to the acre. 

(W. F. M.) "The early turnip-rooted varieties are the 
only kinds of beets that are of importance to the Southern 
trucker. Though growing mainly on or near the surface, the 
beet, on account of its long tap root, requires a mellow, 
deeply-worked soil, and one in which the fertilizing matters 
are very uniformly distributed. Coarse, lumpy manure makes 
ill-shaped roots, and it should never be used. Soil that has 
been for years well manured and cultivated in vegetables is 
best for the beet crop, and a good crop can seldom be made 
on land freshly taken in vegetable culture, no matter how 
well manured. 

"While quite a hardy plant, beets are easily destroyed 
by a freeze when just germinating. But the market gardener 
must always take some risks in order to be in among the 
earliest. We, therefore, sow beets among our earliest crops 
in February, and stand ready to replant if destroyed by a 
late frost. Half a ton to a full ton of high grade fertilizer, is 
needed for the best results, according to the previous manur- 
ing of the land. The rows should be wide enough apart to 
admit of horse culture. Furrows are marked with a plow 
and in them the fertilizer is scattered and covered with fur- 
rows from each side. The ridge thus made is flattened with 
a roller and the seed drilled with a garden-drill on these 
flattened ridges. We have found it a good practice to sow 
a few early radish seed mixed with the beet seed. These 



176 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

come up at once and mark the rows, and are pulled out of 
the way for sale before they harm the beets. The so-called 
seed of the beet is really a fruit, with many germs or seeds, 
and thinning is an important matter. This is done very much 
in the same way that cotton is thinned. Frequent cultivation 
is needed and the rows must be kept clean by hand weeding. 
One bar plowing and two cultivations, with one hand hoeing 
will usually make the crop. 

SHIPPING. 

"Early beets are shipped before they are full grown and 
while yet tender. They are fit to ship as soon as they are 
about 3 inches in diameter. Pull them and trim the leaves 
to about 3 or 4 inches from the roots, and pack neatly and 
closely in ventilated barrels and cover the top of the barrel 
with bagging. They will command a better price if tied in 
flat bunches by their tops, three or four in a bunch, before 
packing in the barrels. 

VARIETIES. 

"For family use we know no better early beet than the 
old Bassano, but its big top and light color condemn it for 
the market grower. For many years the Extra Early 
Egyptian beet has been the standard sort with the market 
gardeners, because of its earliness, small top and dark crim- 
son color, and it is still largely grown. But it is a beet of 
very poor quality, and soon gets hard and stringy. The 
Eclipse beet has of late years rapidly attained popularity, 
and is superseding the Egyptian, being a handsome, globular 
beet of good color and quality. Lentz' Extra Early Blood 
Turnip beet has also gotten popular with gardeners by reason 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 177 

of its size, good quality and small top. These last two we 
consider the best." 

RADISHES. 

Where a good local market can be secured radishes pay 
well as a truck crop, and for the farmer's own table they are 
a pleasant relish in the early spring. They are of two sorts, 
the summer and winter varieties. Of the summer sorts 
there are the long scarlet, the half long and the short 
turnip rooted, the latter being the earliest. They should be 
sown as an outdoor crop just as soon as the hard freezes are 
over in the spring, say the first of March, and after this for a 
succession eVery ten days until the middle of May. 

It is well to sow them in drills so that they can be 
v^orked, but are more commonly sown broadcast, and grow 
well this way when the soil is light and moderately rich and 
they are not allowed to suffer from drought. 

The flea beetle or turnip flea is sometimes very destruc- 
tive to young radish plants ; air slacked lime dusted over 
them when wet with dew, or water impregnated with tar or 
weak carbolic acid sprinkled over the plants it is said will 
drive the fleas away. 

CAULIFLOWER. 

Well grown heads of early cauliflower are a splendid 
shipping product for the Southern truck farmer. Their hand- 
ling is much the same as that of the cabbage. They require 
a rich, well worked soil, clays and loams being preferable. 
Dressings of salt, ashes and lime the previous year being very 
beneficial. No good heads can be raised unless the ground 
has been deeply worked, and is rich in nitrates, phosphates 

P 12 



178 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

sulphates, soda and potash. The latter can be supplied^ 
if deficient, by the use of common salt and wood ashes ; 
phosphates from ground bone, and nitrates from manures 
(well rotted) or the use of green crops of the clover or pulse 
families plowed under the season before. Added to these a 
top dressing of land plaster (sulphate of lime) will be found 
beneficial. 

To the above, which are all comparatively inexpensive, 
may be added guano used in the form of liquid manure, not 
too strong, applied around (not on) the plants when they are 
in an active growing state, after transplanting. The growing 
plants should be worked often, the ground being kept mellow 
and light. 

To secure early heads, sow cauliflowers in September, 
in cold frames or beds, in rich soil, and if the weather should 
be dry and hot, water frequently and shade the beds with 
brush or sacking covers until the seeds sprout. When the 
plants are large enough transplant them to other beds, setting 
them 3 to 4 inches apart in soil that is not too rich, giving 
them plenty of fresh, cool air, night and day when the weather 
is not too cold. All members of the cabbage family, to 
which this plant belongs, endure light frosts without injury. 

If a fall sowing has been neglected sow in January in hot- 
beds, cold frames, or in the greenhouse, and the plants will 
then be ready to remove to the open air about the ist of 
April ; while those raised in the fall can be set out in open 
ground about the ist of March; a little protection being nec- 
essary if very cold nights or days should come. Work the 
ground frequently until the plants are large and well estab- 
lished, and if the season is dry, water them, fighting off worms 
by the same methods as are recommended for cabbages. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 179 

In shipping, pack them snugly in crates that will just 
hold them in two tiers, back to back; a sufficient amount of 
the green outside leaves being retained to cover the white 
edible centers and keep them from being bruised. 

The broccoli is similar to the cauliflower, but is not so 
delicate in flavor, so handsome or salable. Its cultivation 
is the same as that of the cabbage or cauliflower. 

CAULIFLOWER AND LETTUCE. 

(W. F. M.) "While fairly good cauliflowers can be 
grown in the coast region of the South in the same way in 
which the early cabbages are grown, the crop is by no means 
a certain one. The plant is more tender in its nature than 
the cabbage, and a severe check in its growth, while it may 
not destroy the plant, will cause it to 'button,' as the gar- 
deners say, that is, to make a little abortive head prema- 
turely, that is perfectly worthless. For this reason it is 
always better to grow early cauliflowers in cold frames asso- 
ciated with the winter crop of lettuce. 

"The seed for this purpose should not be sown later 
than the 15th of September. Early in November they should 
be set in frames, six plants to each 3x6 foot sash, and the 
rest of the space in the frame set with Tennis Ball Lettuce, 
6 inches apart, from seed sown a week earlier than the cau- 
liflower. The soil in the frames should be of the richest 
possible description. The glass should be put over the 
plants at once and shaded with bagging until the plants 
recover from the transplanting. Then the shade must be 
removed and the plants exposed in all sunny and warm 
weather, but the sashes should always be drawn over them 
on frosty nights. The object is to keep all in a state of 



180 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

healthy growth, but not to keep so close that a very tender 
growth will be made, as they may be seriously injured then 
by a sudden cold snap. 

"The lettuce should be well headed and ready to ship 
by Christmas. Lettuce should be shipped in tight barrels 
and covered with heavy bagging. Trim off all defective 
leaves and rinse each head in water in packing. Pack neatly 
in layers in the barrel, heads upside down and well tucked 
in, so as to give no room for jostling. 

"After the lettuce is out of the way give the cauliflowers 
a good working over, and then expose them to the full air 
on every favorable opportunity, so as to get them well 
hardened to the outer air by the time they begin to get their 
leaves against the glass, and, finally, by the latter part of 
February, at least, strip the glass off of them entirely and 
use it on other frames for tomatoes, cucumbers, or other 
crops. The cauliflower should be well headed and cut out 
by the last of March. The cauliflower is naturally a seaside 
plant and does not reach its best perfection far away from 
the coast. They require a very rich soil and an abundance 
of water. The plants in the frames should, therefore, never 
be allowed to suffer for water, and the glass should be 
stripped off every warm rain during the winter. If snow 
falls let it lie on the glass, as it will protect the plants from 
the cold which is apt to follow the clearing off. 

VARIETIES. 

"The only varieties we have found worth growing in 
frames are the Early Erfurt and the Snowball. The last 
named is the best and most certain heading sort we have 
ever grown. It leaves nothing to be desired in an early 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 181 

cauliflower. For growing in the frames with the cauliflower 
we have found no lettuce better than the strain of Tennis 
Ball known as the Boston Market Lettuce. When the frames 
are devoted to lettuce alone the sort called the Big Boston 
is probably the best. The Black Seeded Simpson is a 
quicker growing sort of fine quality, but it does not make 
a close head, and hence does not sell so well. For home 
use we prefer it to any other. The lettuce known as AU- 
the-Year-Round is one of the best for open ground culture, 
and for spring planting the Hanson is fine, as it stands warm 
weather well. But no sort of lettuce is of any value here 
after warm weather sets in finally." 

(See also article on lettuce, page 187. 

PARSNIPS. 

Like the carrot, the parsnip should be sown early in the 
spring to ensure the germination of the seed, and as for other 
tap-rooted plants the ground should be very thoroughly and 
deeply worked, or the crop will be stunted. A rich, mellow 
loam, or a black or chocolate sandy soil is best for this plant, 
although good results can be obtained on a clay soil if it is 
made rich and mellow by the use of manure and by deep 
plowing. Wood ashes are a good fertilizer for this crop and 
should be used where they can be cheaply obtained. 

They should be sown in drills 15 to 18 inches apart, in 
March, and thinned out to 6 or 8 inches in the drills. Work 
them well and keep the ground clear of weeds through the 
spring and summer, and they will be ready for use from last 
of September until the following spring. 

For seed, as with carrots, turnips or beets, a few should 
be left standing in the ground, until the next spring, covering 



182 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

them with earth or straw in severe weather. They will send 
up seed stalks as soon as they start to growing. The vege- 
tables named above, as well as cabbages and cauliflowers, 
are biennials, and seed should be saved each year for a succes- 
sion of fresh seed. The hollow crown variety of parsnip is 

the best. 

MUSHROOMS. 

This delicious fungus plant is found growing wild in 
nearly all parts of the United States, but is raised in garden 
culture in prepared beds sown with mushroom spawn, which 
can be obtained from any good seedsmen in the larger cities, 
costing usually about 20 cents a pound. 

The beds should be prepared in March, November or 
December. A good size being 3 or 4 feet wide by 10 to 15 
long, and these beds must be sheltered from cold and rains 
by a roof, and the north and west sides may be boarded up, 
leaving the south or south and east sides open. They can 
also be grown on shelf-like beds one over the other to good 
advantage. Fresh cow and horse manure and rich loam 
mixed together thoroughly, and placed in layers 12 inches 
thick, in alternation with clay loam 3 inches thick, each layer 
of manure being saturated with liquid manure and beaten 
down solidly as it is laid on, form the beds. Two or three of 
each of such layers can be put on, but good results are ob- 
tained where but one of each are used if the proper temper- 
ature and degree of moisture is secured. The top layer 
should always be of good, rich loam 2 inches thick and should 
be well watered with warm water. 

After the bed is prepared cover it heavily with straw or 
old hay leaving it to ferment ten days, and until its temper- 
ature is from 50 to 60 degrees, when it should be planted 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 183 

with pieces of spawn the size of a walnut, 6 inches apart, all 
over the bed. In from one to two months after planting^, the 
bed should begin to bear. It must be kept free from all 
weeds by hand pulling, not by hoeing. 

A method of increasing the supply of spawn is recom- 
mended as follows: Take two parts of fresh, rich horse ma- 
nure, two parts old do, one part cow manure, two parts rich 
loam and mix thoroughly, using barn yard leachings to 
moisten, making the whole into a thick paste. Spread this 
out and beat it down to from 2 to 3 inches thick. When 
partially dried cut into pieces 6 or 8 inches square and par- 
tially dry, turning them frequently. When in this half dry 
condition insert two or three pieces of spawn the size of your 
thumb into holes made in each brick, covering them with 
some of the same material as that of which the bricks are 
made. The bricks are then placed in compact piles one on 
the other, spawn side uppermost, and are covered thoroughly 
with warm horse manure, wetting the pile with warm water, 
care being taken that the heat engendered is not over 70 de- 
grees, or the life of the spawn will be destroyed. 

The spawn will in a few days diffuse itself, growing all 
through the bricks, which can then be stored in a cool, dry 
place and will retain their vegetative power for years. Mush- 
rooms cannot well be shipped to market, but if grown in 
quantities, must be sold in a near-by city, or they can be 
sealed up in tin cans as the French put them up, or made 
into catsup and bottled. 



184 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

PEANUTS. 

On light, sandy or loamy soils the peanut, or as the 
native Southerner calls it, the "goober," produces its best 
crops. 

The ground should be deeply and thoroughly broken, 
and a top dressing of manure, lime, marl or ashes are each 
and all excellent, increasing the yield of this crop, preventing 
the formation of empty pods or "pops," as they are termed^ 
but on any piece of fair, loamy or sandy upland, they willi 
with proper culture be found to do well. 

The fruit, or nuts, are formed under ground on the 
roots, the flowers above on the stalks, the same as those of a 
potato. There are several varieties, the best known being 
the ordinary Virginia or Carolina, and the Spanish, which is 
a smaller kind not good as a market sort, but very productive 
and excellent as food for hogs. 

An early planting is desirable, as this crop takes a long^ 
time to mature, still a crop may in some seasons be made 
even when they are planted as late as July i. It is better, 
however, to plant as early as the last of March or in Aprils 
putting them in hills 2 feet by 3.^ to 4 feet apart, planting 
several peas in a place to insure a good stand, thinning out 
finally to one or two plants in a hill. 

They should be well worked with the plow, but earth- 
should not be thrown upon the plants as is recommended by 
some planters, the yield being reduced by this treatment, the 
re-rooting of the branches taking from the strength and yield 
of the plant. 

In harvesting, plow them out with a broad shovel plow,, 
stack them in piles to dry out, shake off the sand and soil,. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 185 

and beat them out into a barrel. To clean them thoroughly 
run them through a fanning mill, or revolve them in a drum 
made with strong plank ends, and slat sides, tacked a little 
way apart, which will remove all sand and clay and make 
them bright, clean and marketable. 

The vines are very valuable as hay, and if well cured 
stock are very fond of it; in fact it is equal to the best of 
clover. This should be carefully cured before the time of 
frosts, and care should be taken to keep it from heating 
while in a green state, which it is very liable to do if piled 
too compactly. After harvesting turn in your hogs, who 
will see that none you have overlooked are lost. 

Good, sound, clean peanuts, put up in good burlap 
sacks, are worth from $i to $2 per bushel, and find ready 
sale in the larger cities, the leading markets being New 
Orleans and Cincinnati, 

The ordinary yield is from 50 to 80 bushels per acre, 
and is a much better crop for the Southern farmer than 5 
cent cotton, 

OKRA. 

Okra while not a shipping vegetable is a plant easily 
raised and affords to those who are fond of it a vast amount 
of mucilaginous food and is an excellent ingredient in soups, 
the famous gumbo soup having this as one of its principal 
ingredients. 

Okra does well on almost all sorts of soils. Plant it in 
the spring when all danger from frost is over, in drills 3 feet 
apart and thin out to 18 inches to 2 feet apart in the rows. 
All of the pods should be cut off as they form (save two or 
three that may be left for seed) or the plants will soon stop 
bearing. It will be found a good plan to cut back half of the 



186 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

canes in midsummer (say the ist of July) to two-thirds of 

their height. They will then send out new shoots, blossoms 

and fruit, and their bearing season will be prolonged until 

frost comes. 

PEPPERS. 

It may be well to raise a few plants of this family in 
every farmer's garden. The hottest and strongest are the 
Cayenne and the Chili varieties ; the milder sorts being used for 
pickling, and as a salad the Bell and Spanish sorts. Sow in 
hotbed early, or in open ground about the middle of April 
and transplant to the garden when 2^ or 3 inches tall, put- 
ting them in rows 2 feet apart and i foot to 18 inches apart 
in the rows, working them as necessary to keep down weeds 
and mellow the soil. 

The use of this vegetable is said to be beneficial as a 
corrective of bowel disorders and stimulating the secretions 
of the liver, and of value in the cure of malarial diseases, and 
is also esteemed as conducive to the health of chickens and 
other domestic fowls, a dose of it given occasionally cut up 
in their rations being highly recommended. 

LETTUCE. 

This plant is grown so finely and easily at the South, 
that if not raised as a shipping product it deserves a place in 
every farmer's kitchen garden. 

The best plan to have it early is of course to sow in hot- 
beds, cold frames, or in a greenhouse in January, or even 
earlier in the Gulf States. It can be transplanted to open 
ground from the ist of March to the ist of April. 

One ounce of good seed will produce from 3,500 to 
5,000 plants. When they are 2 inches high they should be 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 187 

transplanted to other beds giving them 3 or 4 inches of room 
each way, watering them frequently. As soon as they have 
well filled these spaces, take out two plants out of three, 
leaving every third plant to stand and mature where it is. 
These if well worked and watered, and given plenty of light 
and air covering them only in cold, freezing weather, will 
make very early heads. As we have said the main crop can 
be gotten into open ground from ist of March to ist of April. 
The soil for lettuce should be tolerably rich and light, though 
it is not necessary that it be quite so rich as for cabbages. 
Frequent working is very beneficial and necessary to secure 
good large heads. They should be set 12 inches apart each 
way. 

With cheap transportation charges, coupled with rapid 
transit, very early and well grown lettuce should be profitable 
as a shipping crop. Where a Farmers' Shipping Club has 
been established and is in good working order, and through 
carload rates or special express rates are secured, there cer- 
tainly is good money to the intelligent truck farmer in very 
€arly lettuce. It might be shipped at the same time and in 
connection with celery, asparagus, radishes, early onions and 
cabbages (See also cauliflower and lettuce on page 179.) 

SALSIFY, or VEGETABLE OYSTER. 

This plant is raised for its long tap root, which when 
stewed and served with a dressing of milk, butter, salt and 
pepper, or cut in thin strips and fried in batter is much relished 
by many persons. It has somewhat of an oyster-like taste. 

It likes a deep, well worked soil, and it is well in sowing 
to put a few turnip rooted radish seeds in with them as when 
the young plants first come up they are so small and so near 



188 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

the color of the ground it is hard to locate them. After one 
or two workings however, they grow vigorously and the rad- 
ishes should be pulled out and the salsify thinned to 4 inches 
apart in the rows which should have been drilled 12 to 15 
inches apart. We do not consider this to be a shipping vege- 
table, but as it is ripe late in the fall and during the winter 
when most other vegetables are out of season, and as it will 
stand in the open ground during the cold weather in the 
South, it is of value for the kitchen garden. 

Seed of this vegetable can be easily saved by leaving a 
few plants to stand over, and removing the riperied seeds from 
time to time for all do not ripen at once. They should then 
be well dried, rubbed out and stored in paper bags for the 
next spring's sowing. 

KOHL RABI. 

This plant belongs to the Brassica or cabbage family. 
Its chief value is the early date at which it matures. The 
part eaten is the globular enlargement of the stem which 
forms above the ground and is turnip like in form, and some- 
what in flavor, but is more delicate than either the turnip or 
cabbage. 

As to culture, soil, etc., the same directions given for 
the cabbage should be followed for kohl rabi, excepting that 
it can be set much closer together, 10 to 12 inches being far 
enough apart. They should be frequently worked the same 
as cabbages, but care should be taken not to hill them up or 
to lodge soil in the heart of the plant as this prevents them 
from forming properly. It is not thought that this vegetable 
would pay as a shipping product, and when cabbages begin 
to head they are generally preferred. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 189 

EGG PLANT. 

To raise the plants, hotbeds or greenhouse culture are 
almost imperatively necessary. They are a native of the 
tropics and require early planting and a long warm season to 
give best results, so that it is not worth while to attempt to 
raise plants in open ground. 

Sow under glass in January or February, covering the 
plants an inch deep in drills in rich, fine loam soil; watering 
them in the drills before covering. The temperature should be 
kept higher than for most other seed, and on this account it is 
best to put them in beds by themselves, keeping sashes closed 
and the air humid until the seed vegetate. As the plants 
are exceedingly tender, care should be taken to give them air 
only on warm days, and to protect them from chills at night. 

Fight off the small flea insects which sometimes trouble 
the young plants with insect powder, soot, finely powdered 
tobacco, scotch snuff, etc. 

When all danger from frosts and cold nights is gone, say 
from middle of April to first of May, transplant them to very 
rich open ground, setting them 2^ feet apart each way, 
watering them well with tepid water in which a little guano 
or manure has been stirred until they are well established. 
Work the ground thoroughly, drawing the earth up about 
the roots. 

There are two main varieties, the purple and the large 
olive, the first being the best known and selling the best. 
There is no reason why this vegetable should not be a good 
shipping product. It sells well in all large towns and cities, 
North or South, and usually brings remunerative prices. 



190 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

The mode of cooking is to pare, slice, salt, then after 
washing the salt off, dip in batter and fry, using a little lard 
on the griddle, to a light even brown color. Many people 
are very fond of them cooked in this way. 

(W. F. M.) "This crop is annually growing in import- 
ance as a vegetable for Northern shipment, the demand for 
them having increased rapidly for years past. The egg plant 
is a tender tropical plant, belonging to the same natural order 
as the tomato and the potato. It is one of the plants that 
demand, for the best success in securing an early crop, that 
the seed be sown early in a greenhouse or hotbed, and it 
must be kept growing thriftily in a good, uniform temperature 
until the weather is permanently warm outside. Any check 
in its growth will result in stunted plants and a worthless crop. 

"We always sow the seed of egg plant in shallow boxes 
on rich compost in a greenhouse where a night temperature 
of fully 65 degrees is maintained. The seeds are sown about 
the middle of February, quite thickly in the boxes, and as 
soon as up, and even before the second pair of leaves are de- 
veloped, they are carefully lifted and transplanted into other 
boxes of fresh soil about an inch or more apart, and set a 
little deeper. If left standing thickly where they germinated 
the 'damping-off fungus' will often destroy the whole in a 
single night. When the rough leaves are well developed the 
plants are again transplanted into 3-inch pots and set on the 
greenhouse benches. Later on they are shifted into 4-inch 
pots in the same house. In April, when the tomato plants 
that have been hardening off in the cold frames, are trans- 
planted to the open ground, some of the egg plants should 
be transplanted into the frames, putting two plants under each 
sash. These are then to be kept protected from all chilly 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 191 

weather by drawing the sashes over them at night and on 
cool days, for the egg plant will not endure any chill. The 
remainder of the plants should be kept in the greenhouse 
until the soil is permanently warm in May. 

"Those set in the frames will enable the gardener to 
keep up a profitable use of the sashes and will be the earliest 
to give a crop, the sashes being removed frorn them when the 
weather is finally settled. Treated in this way the fruit can 
be had of marketable size in June, and any egg plants shipped 
during June and July will usually bring a paying price. They 
are marketable as soon as they attain the size of a small 
Jenny Lind cantaloupe, or from i to 3 pounds weight. The 
fruit should never be pulled, but carefully cut with a sharp 
knife and packed in well-ventilated barrels or barrel crates. 
It is an expensive crop to forward, but the profit depends on 
the earliness of the product and they will pay well for the 
extra expense. 

"The soil for egg plants should be light and warm, and 
as rich as it can be made. Low, wet and cold land will not 
make egg plants. The crop will be in exact proportion to 
the rapidity of their growth. Land that has been the pre- 
vious year in the early Irish potato crop, and heavily fertilized 
will be a suitable place for them, provided that when the 
potatoes are off the land it is at once sown in peas, which 
should be allowed to die on the land, and crimson clover seed 
sown among them in September. The clover and dead pea 
vines should be deeply plowed under in April and the surface 
put in good order for the egg plants. 

"The land should be marked off 3 feet each way, and a 
shovel full of manure, or a good handful of high grade fer- 
tilizer, be well mixed with the soil at each check, ready for 



192 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

setting the plants in May. The after-cultivation should be 
shallow and frequent, and a dressing of nitrate of soda during 
their growth will materially forward them. The Colorado 
potato bug is very fond of the egg plant, but in the early 
stages of its growth can be easily kept down by spraying with 
Paris green mixed with water. Later on, as the fruit forms, 
hand picking must be resorted to. Much work can be saved 
by examining the under side of the broad leaves for the 
orange-colored patches of the eggs of the insect, and crushing 
them with finger and thumb. The plants are also subject to 
the Southern blight, which is so destructive to the tomato at 
times. This disease shows itself by the sudden wilting and 
death of the plants just as they are coming into fruit. The 
exact cause of this disease is as yet not fully determined. 
Some good authorities consider it the work of bacteria within 
the plant, while the Florida Station states that it is caused by 
a higher order of fungous growth, with an external mycelium. 
If this is the case, a spraying with Bordeaux mixture should 
be effective against it. We tried this the past season on part 
of a plat of tomatoes at our station, but as the disease did 
not make its appearance on the untreated plants we are still 
uncertain as to the efificacy of the remedy. Next season we 
will try the same on plants set where the disease was bad the 
past year and repeat the treatment. 

"There are several varieties of egg plants, but only two 
of them are commonly grown. These are the New York 
Improved and the Black Pekin. The last named is early but 
not prolific and the fruit is smaller than the first, which is 
really the only sort worth growing. Even this rapidly dete- 
riorates from careless saving of the seed, and while, as a rule, 
it seldom pays a gardener to attempt to save seed, it will 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 193 

always pay the Southern gardener to select some of the finest 
fruits from some of the most prolific plants for seed. The 
best strain of these seed we are acquainted with is that 
largely grown among the Norfolk gardeners as Tait's Im- 
proved New York Purple." 

WATERMELONS. 

The raising of watermelons or muskmelons should not 
in the opinion of the writer be attempted as a business on 
clay soils. On rich sandy or loam soils, or even on poor 
sands, good crops can be raised, but though some farmers, 
by taking extra pains and with increased expense, succeed in 
getting fair crops on clay soils, the fact remains that the true 
home of the melon family is the alluvial, black sandy, choco- 
late sandy, and light sandy and loamy soils. 

Break the ground deeply, then lay off by throwing four 
furrows together lo feet apart. The hills should be lo feet 
apart on these ridges and a half bushel of good well rotted 
manure is a splendid addition to each hill. Plant in the 
extreme South the last of March ; in the northern Southern 
States the loth of April, unless you are prepared with glass 
top boxe^ to cover the plants on cold nights, in which case 
the planting can be done two weeks earlier. It is well in any 
case to replant in the same hills every week so that if the 
first planted fail the later ones will come on, and an early 
stand be secured. Another good plan is to raise the plants 
under glass on reversed sods as recommended for early sweet 
corn on page 171, transferring these to open ground when all 
danger from frost is passed. Luke warm liquid manure is 
excellent for stimulating the growth of melons. 

P13 



194 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Plant ten or twelve seeds in a hill thinning out at last to 
one or two. Deep working is fatal to this crop ; the ground 
should be worked faithfully, laying the vines carefully out of 
the way, but all working should be very shallow, using a 
scooter plow with heel sweep, light cultivator or horse hoe. 
When the vines cover all the ground the cultivation should 
cease, and all that remains to be done is to remove all imper- 
fect or misshapen melons, and if the vines have not acquired 
a vigorous growth and yet are setting fruit this should all be 
removed, thus giving the plants opportunity to get a vigorous 
growth, after which the fruit will come on rapidly and will 
be much finer and larger than if the first setting had been 
allowed to mature. If large melons are wanted it is recom- 
mended to thin out the crop, but in no case to pinch or cut 
back the vines. We know there are many who advise prun- 
ing back, but the evidence seems to be in favor of the 
contrary course. 

Melons are a splendid shipping crop and if proper freight 
arrangements can be made before the crop is raised — please 
note this, we say before the crop is raised — good profits can 
be obtained, a very large business done and money made. 

After the watermelon crop is ripe there is usually plenty 
of time to raise a crop of cowpea hay or millet on the same 
ground. The first is the preferable crop as it enriches the 
ground it is grown on and leaves the soil in fine condition for 
plowing for the next season's melon crop. 

(W. F. M.) "The watermelon crop has of late years 
attained great importance in some of the Southern States, 
not so much among the market gardeners proper as among 
growers on warm, thin sandy soils that are well adapted to 
this crop. The extensive culture of watermelons in southern 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 195 

Georgia has so occupied the early market that they are not 
so profitable to growers in the upper South, but they can 
still be made to pay reasonably well on cheap lands. 

"The best soil for the watermelon is a high, warm, 
sandy soil, though good, but later crops can be grown on 
mellow bottom lands. Land that has been newly cleared, or 
an old field that has been lying out for some years, are 
usually favorable places for the melons. 

"The usual method of planting, after the land has been 
well prepared, is to lay it off with the plow in checks lo to 
12 feet each way and plant at each intersection. The fur- 
rows are enlarged at the crossings so as to make a wide hole 
in which the compost is placed. The compost made of well 
rotted manure and leaf mold from the woods should be pre- 
pared during the previous winter. Two or more shovelfuls 
should be placed in each hill, and a good handful of high 
grade fertilizer should be well mixed with the surface of the 
hill before planting and lightly covered with soil. On the 
flattened surface of the hill made over the manure the seed 
is planted. As earliness is important, the planting should 
begin as soon as there is a chance for the seed to grow, 
making successive plantings a week apart of a few seed each 
time until a full stand is secured. It is well worth while to 
sacrifice some seed to secure the earliest stand. When a 
stand is secured and the plants are strong they should be 
thinned to two plants in each hill and the soil well loosened 
around those that are left. The cultivation should be rapid, 
before the vines get to running, by throwing furrows to the 
plants with a light plow. The vines should never on any 
account be disturbed or moved and all cultivation must be 
in advance of their extension. 



196 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

"An experienced man can easily detect a ripe melon as 
soon as he looks at it, but if, on turning the melon over, the 
under side is yellow and blistered it is certainly ripe. A ripe 
melon will sound hollow on thumping in the early morning, 
but when they are heated in the sun a green one will sound 
as ripe as a ripe one. The varieties of watermelons are very 
numerous, but for shipping we want, above all, a melon tough 
enough in its rind to stand the handling to which they are 
subjected. No variety yet grown has become so popular 
among market growers as the Kolb's Gem. This is a round 
melon of medium size, with a thin but tough rind and hand- 
some, bright red flesh. It is, however, not of fine quality or 
flavor and the flesh is stringy and coarse, but its carrying 
quality and handsome appearance makes it the most profit- 
able sort grown. The Jones melon, a recent introduction, is 
similar in shape to the Gem, of larger size and far better 
quality, but the brittle nature of its rind will forbid its use by 
shippers. The Mclver Sugar melon, raised by Colonel E. 
R. Mclver, of Darlington, S. C, is, in our opinion, after three 
years' observation, by far the best watermelon in cultivation. 
It is an oval shaped melon, striped light and dark green, and 
is the most uniform and true to type of any melon except the 
Kolb. In quality it is far superior to the Kolb, or any other 
sort we have tried except the Jones, and is fully equal to 
that. It promises to make a fine shipping melon and will 
supersede the Kolb when better known. 

"The same blight that attacks the tomato and egg plant 
attacks the watermelon, and it may be that spraying with 
Bordeaux mixture will prevent it, but we cannot as yet state 
this definitely." 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 197 

PUMPKINS. 

The pumpkin is a good, homely plebian plant; that is to 
say it will grow well on almost any kind of soil, on hill or 
valley lands, on sand, clay, or rich loam. Of course like 
any other plant it does best where the soil and surroundings 
are favorable, but it does not demand as rich soil as melons 
or cucumbers. Pumpkins do very well planted in the hills 
with corn, but in any case should not be set closer than lO 
or 12 feet apart and but one plant should be left in a hill. 
Cultivate them well, keeping the ground about them mellow 
until the vines cover the ground but do not hill up the dirt 
over the roots. 

It has long been claimed that pumpkins when planted 
near melons, squashes, etc., mix and deteriorate the quality 
of the progeny of these plants, but recent tests made at 
Experiment Stations tend to prove there is little danger of 
such a result. At any rate pumpkins, melons and cucumbers 
are so distinct and individualized it is not thought that they 
will cross. Perhaps the squash family may be more suscep- 
tible to hybridization from the pollen of the pumpkin. 

As is well known the flesh of the pumpkin after having 
been boiled to a thick pulp, is used with milk, eggs and a 
little spice and sugar in the making of pies of the custard 
sort and is very much relished in the fall and winter by almost 
everybody. It furnishes excellent and plentiful "pie timber" 
to the frugal farmer's wife. A greater value is found in this 
fruit as a food ration for cattle and hogs, both being very 
fond of it, and from its richness in sugar and of its seeds in 
oil, it is a very nourishing and fattening food. 



198 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Being so easily and cheaply grown it will be found a 
very economical food crop, and succeeds admirably at the 
South. Pumpkins keep well all winter if stored in a cool, dry 
place such as a frost proof outdoor cellar or fruit house. 

The meat of the pumpkin is often preserved by being 
cut into long thin strips and dried in the sun or by the fire, 
afterwards being soaked until soft and used for cooking pur- 
poses as wanted. 

The best sorts are those which have the thickest meat, 
such as the "Tennessee Sweet-Potato Pumpkin," or the 
"Connecticut Field." In saving seed select those having 
the thickest flesh and growing nearest the roots of the vine. 
Three to five pounds of seed are required to plant an acre in 
hills, costing from 50 to 75 cents per pound. 

SQUASHES. 

Squashes are of two main sorts the summer or bush 
varieties and the winter keeping or running kinds. 

Either sort may be planted in almost any kind of good, 
rich soil, which has been heavily manured with light, well 
rotted manure, and has been thoroughly broken up and made 
into hills raised 3 or 4 inches above the surface of the bed. 
Let these hills, when required for bush squash be 4 feet apart 
or if for running squashes 5 feet, and let the crowns of the 
hills be a foot across and make them a little dishing to the 
center so that in a rainy time they will hold an inch or two 
of water. Plant 10 or 12 seeds in a hill so as to be sure of 
a stand, and remove surplus plants from time to time so as 
to leave but two or three plants of the bush sorts, or one or 
two of the running kinds. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 199 

Do not work them or disturb them until the rough 
leaves come, then keep the earth about the plants loose and 
clean. Squashes are very tender and should never be planted 
until all danger from frost is past, but as they can with care 
be transplanted easily, they may be started in a hotbed or 
greenhouse as we have directed for cucumbers, and after- 
wards removed to the hills. This, however, had better be 
done in a wet time, or in the cool of the evening, pouring 
water about the roots before covering them in with dry soil, 
shading them from the hot sun the following day. 

Of summer varieties suited to the South we have the 
wliite and golden yellow scalloped or patty pan squashes, 
and the yellow crookneck. The giant summer crookneck, 
lately introduced, is as early as the old, smaller variety, 
about twice as large, continues long in bearing, as good in 
quality and a fine market sort. Both of these latter sorts 
are characterized by their bright yellow color and rough, 
warty skin. 

Of winter sorts we have the old-fashioned large Winter 
Crookneck and the Mammoth Chili. The Hubbard, so pop- 
ular and productive at the North, we have never had any 
success with, but never failed to raise abundant crops of the 
Winter Crookneck. 

In cooking squashes, especially the winter sorts, our 
better half finds steaming them much preferable to baking or 
boiling. When well cooked by this method they are excel- 
lent. It is not necessary to peel them, the rind is very 
hard, cut them in convenient pieces and put them in the 
steamer, flesh side down, and when cooked scrape out the 
meat. 



200 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

CANTALOUPES. 

This variety of melons is a remunerative crop for the 
truck farmer where soil and shipping facilities are favorable. 
All that we have said under the head of watermelons, applies 
with equal force to cantaloupes, excepting that the hills need 
not be so far apart, 6 feet each way being sufficient. 

The globular, rough-coated, green meated sorts are the 
sweetest, most highly flavored, and ship and sell the best. 
They can be packed tightly in crates 16x24x12, or in barrels, 
with sacking nailed tightly over the tops, the former being 
much the best way. 

(W. F. M.) "The chapter on cucumbers will apply 
equally well to this crop, and it is not necessary to repeat it 
here. The varieties in the catalogues are very numerous and 
new names are added annually, but the truckers still adhere 
mainly to the older sorts. The main variety grown by our 
truckers is the Jenny Lind. This is a small, green fleshed, 
netted melon, well known and popular in the Northern cities^ 
and is about the earliest of any. In high quality the Emerald 
Green, a green skinned sort, with orange colored flesh, in 
our opinion stands at the head of all melons. It is, however, 
much later than the Jenny Lind, and is apt to crack badly in 
wet weather, and has not become so popular with growers, 
but for home use it is unsurpassed. The Hackensack and 
the Anne Arundel, or Acme, are grown to some extent for 
market, but more Northward than in the South." 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 201 

MUSTARD. 

Sow mustard almost at any time of the year and on any 
kind of good soil at the South, and a good return in an ex- 
cellent crop of greens is sure to be the result. If you want 
to keep your ground free from weeds, it is best to sow mus- 
tard in drills, and work it, but it is quite common to sow it 
broadcast, and the crop is about as good oneway as another, 
unless the season should turn out to be very dry, in which 
case that in drills, well worked does much the best. 

Mustard is principally used for "greens," boiled with a 
little salt and a small piece of bacon, and dressed with vinegar 
and a little pepper. It is esteemed a very healthful dish for 
early spring. For a succession in the middle South sow 
every month in the year excepting December, January and 
February. 

SPINACH 

Is eaten for greens in the early spring, the same as 
mustard. Sow in October, and continue to put seed into the 
ground all the winter and spring months excepting February, 
when the weather is usually too severe for the plant to make 
headway. Plant in rows i8 inches apart and thin out to 6 
or 8 inches in the row. A mellow rich loam is best for this 
plant. Work thoroughly, keeping the ground mellow. 



PART IV. 

^ Fruits ^ 




APPLES. 



HE late Dr. John A. Warder, recognized 
as the leading authority on apple cul- 
ture in North America, gives prefer- 
ence to the selection of a Northern 
slope, with light, rich porous soil, for 
an apple orchard, but states that some 
varieties do best on one kind of soil, while others thrive on 
another totally different. He also states that unsuitable soils 
and situations may often be so modified by the horticulturist 
as to render them useful and productive. These modifica- 
tions may be effected by artificial drainage, supplying lacking 
chemical constituents in the soil, etc. 

Most all of the Southern States abound in excellent sites 
for apple orchards, and tested varieties are successfully grown, 
from Virginia clear around to Arkansas on the plateaus and 
higher lands. 

We cannot too strenuously urge, that only those varie- 
ties be planted in any locality which have proved themselves 
adapted to similar soils, seasons and climate. There are now 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 203 

plenty of such well tested sorts, many of them being long 
keeping, winter varieties that are known to be regular bearers, 
healthy and profitable at the South. 

A list of apples recommended for Southern culture will 
be found on another page. 

After the selection of a suitable site for an orchard, the 
next point is the clearing of the land of trees, stumps and 
rocks; then should come a deep and thorough plowing, and 
on most soils a subsoil plowing will be found beneficial. 
The ground should be deeply and thoroughly worked, and if 
the land is not rich enough to grow a good corn crop, a top 
dressing of manure should be given to bring it up to that 
standard. Green crops, such as cowpeas or clover, should be 
plowed under, while applications of ashes, lime and salt will 
generally be found beneficial. Care must be taken, however, in 
the application of mineral manures to all kinds of fruit trees, 
especially to young trees ; a too liberal application of leached 
ashes, say i bushel to a tree, has been known to kill out a 
young orchard completely. These substances should be 
spread lightly over the surface and should in no case be 
heaped up about the trees or in fact put too near them. 

Dr. Warder says of manuring: *" Clover is an invalu- 
able assistant. Its long roots pierce deeply into the soil, 
bringing up from below hidden treasures, which are left in 
the upper layers, modified by the digestion of the plant, 
and by new chemical changes and combinations rendered fit 
food for succeeding crops. * * * Stable manure and 
composts will seldom be required in lands that have not 
been nearly exhausted, and therefore unfit for any orchard. 
In case it becomes necessary to use such a field, the manur- 

*Warder's American Pomology ; Apples, page 220. 



204 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

ing should be done all over the surface, and a crop of clover 
should be grown and plowed in before planting the trees ; 
upon no account should fresh stable manure be brought into 
immediate contact or close proximity with the roots of the 
young trees." 

Speaking of and for the South, we recommend, that 
where the land is poor, but is ready for sowing in the fall, a 
crop of crimson clover be raised, which should be plowed 
under the following spring, when the land should be gotten in 
condition and sowed to cowpeas, which will be ready to plow 
under in September, and the ground will then be in good 
condition for the planting of the orchard in November. 

Large holes filled with manure, or with a few spade- 
fuls of manure thrown in, in which to plant the young trees, 
are an abomination and a snare. After your whole field 
is enriched as above, by the crops you have raised upon 
it, lay off your orchard, setting poles or flags to indicate 
where the first row of trees shall come, and plowing deep 
double furrows along that line. Light cross furrows are then 
plowed at the proper distance apart, and at the intersections 
strong stakes about 4 or 5 feet long are firmly driven, mark- 
ing the points where trees are to set, or rather the trees are 
set just north of each stake . 

These stakes are not designed to support the trees in 
any way, but to mark the place to set the trees, and after- 
ward to show where they stand, and enable the plowman in 
cultivating the ground between the rows to avoid striking 
the trees with his whififietree. 

In planting, set each tree a very little deeper than it 
stood in the nursery row, that is, so that the neck or collar 
of the tree is just at the surface of the ground. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 205^ 

The earth should then be tramped solidly around the 
tree upon the roots, and the stem inclined slightly to the 
southwest, the direction from which the prevailing winds 
come at the South. 

We recommend to shield the trees from "sun-scald" with 
two short pieces of board 6 to lo inches wide nailed together 
gutter fashion, sharpened at one end, and driven into the 
ground on the south side of and near to the stem of each tree, 
forming a shade from the sun, both in summer and winter. 
These gutter-like shades should only be long enough so that 
when the sharpened part is driven firmly into the ground, the 
top comes just up to the first branch or live bud of the young 
tree. If these sun shields are put up by each tree, the mark- 
ing stakes may be omitted as these will serve instead. 

Before each young tree is set out it is well to immerse its 
roots for a second or two in a warm bath of kerosene emul- 
sion, to kill the root lice of the woolly aphis family, should 
any be upon them.* This emulsion can be used as hot as 
100 to 1 20 degrees if the young trees are only dipped into it 
for ati instant, and taken right out again. 

In a recent conversation with Hon. W. G. Vincenheller, 
commissioner of agriculture, etc., of this State, he strenuously 
urges, that if the young trees after being set in the orchard, 
are regularly and thoroughly worked all through the hot 
weather in the summer months, the soil being kept mellow, 
and a healthy growth and development kept up, no sun 
scald need be feared. He insists it is in the summer, and 
not in the winter months, that this trouble comes on the 
trees ; and that thorough culture of the soil insures the health 
of the tree in this, as also in almost all other respects. A 

*See Woolly Aphis on another page. 



206 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

few workings in the spring are not enough, this treatment 
must be continued all through the summer, and the soil must 
not be allowed at any time to become baked and hard. 

There is good, sound reasoning in this, and we cannot 
too strenuously urge the orchardist not to neglect his trees, 
and conclude that the few workings when the crops are 
cultivated that are growing in the orchard in the spring and 
early part of the summer, are sufificient. 

The authorities usually recommend that apple trees be 
set 30 to 33 feet apart, but as some varieties do not grow as 
large as others, and if set so far apart will never cover the 
ground, and as it is contended by some that the shade one 
row gives to the next, if they are set closer, is an advantage, 
it is recommended to set them as close as from 20 to 25 feet. 
If set 25 feet apart, a peach or plum tree can be set between 
the apples, each way, which coming to maturity earlier, and 
being of smaller size, do well and bear heavy crops while the 
apple trees are coming into bearing; — then at last, say in 
twelve or fifteen years, these can be cut away. 

As to the shading of the trunks of the trees one by the 
other, and so preventing sun-scald, this is not practical, if 
sun-scald takes place in the winter, when the leaves are off 
from the trees. 

There is no remedy for this trouble, in our opinion, so 
good as the gutter-shaped wooden shields we have described 
above. When the trees grow older boards can be nailed to 
the trees on the southern side permanently, the nails will not 
injure the trees. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 207 

PROPAGATION OF FRUIT TREES. 

Trees from established, reliable Southern nurseries, can 
now be bought so cheap, already grafted and ready to set 
in the orchard, that the majority of farmers and fruit raisers 
will prefer to get them in this way. Some persons, however, 
may choose to raise their own trees, and for their benefit we 
give a few short directions. 

There is no mystery and very little trouble in raising 
grafted fruit trees; it is a very simple operation. The first 
point is to secure scions from the varieties suited to your 
locality. If you know of any orchards or bearing trees in 
your neighborhood of the varieties you wish to propagate, 
and you can readily obtain scions from them, you are in 
condition to go ahead, but if you cannot procure good scions 
(which are small shoots, or twigs, of the year before's 
growth) you had better purchase your trees already grafted, 
from some good nurseryman. 

These scions should be cut in the autumn or winter, 
before the buds have swelled, but not when the weather is 
cold or frosty. They should then be packed at once in 
moss or sawdust, the latter being preferable, and stored in a 
cellar or cave ; or they can be buried in light, loamy or 
sandy soil that is not wet, or having water standing on the sur- 
face. When taken up for use, the sand and earth should be 
washed from them, as grit or sand will interfere somewhat 
with cutting the scions properly, and will dull the knife. 

It will not pay you to depend on seedling trees, either 
of apples, peaches, or other fruits, for while a few grown 
from the seed may come true to the parent tree, or prove to 
be of value, the great majority will produce greatly inferior 



208 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

fruit, and if you set cut your orchard with such trees, in six 
or eight years, when you should be getting good returns 
you will have to have the trees grafted all through their tops, 
at a considerable expense, delay and trouble. 

The first thing in raising young trees then, after you 
have found that you can procure scions (or cuttings) of good 
varieties, is to grow your stocks from the seed. 
GROWING THE STOCKS. 

Any good seed will do, and this may be procured in 
the case of apples, from the fresh pomace at a cider mill, or 
can be saved from such apples as are used by the family in 
cooking or drying, or can be bought of some dealer. These 
should be sown very early in the spring, or in fact, here in 
the South it is best to plant them in February, and as soon 
as they are taken from the fruit, not letting them get dry 
and hard. 

They should be planted in good, rich, deeply worked 
soil, in beds, just about as you would sow onions, and a top 
dressing of well rotted manure will be found advantageous in 
keeping the ground moist and friable. Care should be taken 
to keep chickens entirely off from these beds, as they are 
very fond of these seeds, and if they get a taste of them will 
scratch up and eat them all. 

Sow them in rows that are about i8 inches apart, and 
if you have plenty of seed, sow it about as thick as you would 
onions; that is to say, about an inch apart in the rows. If 
you get a good stand thin them out to about 6 inches apart. 
In sowing the seed, let it only be covered deep enough to 
insure its being kept moist; a depth of i ^ to 2 inches being 
generally enough to secure this. Peach and plum stones 
should be covered somewhat deeper, and planted in the fall 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 209 

that the dampness and freezing of the ground may cause the 
stones to split open. 

These young trees or stocks, as they are called, whether 
of apple or other fruits, should be taken up in the fall, their 
long tap roots being carefully dug up, and the vigorous ones 
packed away in sand or sawdust, in a cellar or other conven- 
ient place, or heeled in the ground out of doors to remain 
until any time during the winter when the scions can be 
grafted into them, or rather into their roots. 

ROOT GRAFTING. 

This is the common mode of procedure at present. 
In former days whip grafting was practiced, the stock 
being cut off in a sloping manner a few inches above the 
ground, and the scion of about the same size, cut also sloping, 
bound tightly upon it. 

Now, the universal practice is to make the splice upon 
the root of the stock, and in doing this, nurserymen use 
either the entire tap root, or, as is the more common custom, 
sections of the root; cutting each tap root into about three 
or four pieces, and grafting a scion into each portion. Some 
growers contend that the whole root plan is much the best, 
others as strenuously insist that piece roots are just as 
good, if not better. There seems to be no doubt but that 
either do well, one in fact just as well as the other. The 
main points to be secured are a vigorous stock or root, a 
healthy scion, a good splice or graft forming a good union 
of the two, and then good soil and culture with good drain- 
age. These points secured, you will have good trees, 
whether on piece or whole roots. 



P14 



210 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

HOW THE GRAFTING IS DONE. 

Any convenient time in the winter, bring your stocks 
and scions into some comfortable workroom, your kitchen 
will do nicely. Now with a sharp knife trim off all the 
small fibrous roots from the tap roots ; cut off a piece of 
this root, say 4 inches long ; cut the top of it to a long 
slope, and in the middle of the slope cut a gash down 
through the middle of the root, say three-fourths of an 
inch deep. Cut a section of a scion, say having three or 
four buds on it, in the same sloping manner, and with a 
corresponding gash in the middle of it, and fit the two 
together, letting the lip of the slit of one interlock with the 
lip of the slit of the other, pressing them tightly together, 
and then winding and tying them with a few turns of cotton 
twine. Some persons use soft grafting wax upon the twine^ 
which tends to hold it more firmly in place, but the expert 
nurseryman does not take this trouble, as the uncovered 
twine is found to do well enough. 

If preferred, a whole tap root may be used for each 
scion (the fine side-roots having been cut away, as these 
small lateral roots are always found to wither and decay)^ 
but commonly, as we have said, three or four cuttings are 
made from one root. 

In this work, which can always be done in a comfortable 
place indoors, a division of labor can be had ; one trims off 
the small rootlets; another cuts the root sections, giving 
them the proper slopes and gashes ; a third person cuts the 
scions to correspond ; while a fourth fits the two together 
and ties them. 

If it is not desired to set these young trees at once in 
the ground, they should be stored in a cool, dry place covered 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 211 

with moist, but not wet sawdust. If, however, your ground 
is ready, deeply plowed and pulverized, they will do fully as 
well planted at once in the nursery rows, being set with a 
dibble so that the top bud may be just above the ground, 
and the soil tramped down about them well, which aids in 
the retention of moisture. 

It will be noted that we say plant "in the nursery rows." 
This is undoubtedly better than to set them at once where 
you desire them to stand in the orchard, as they are at first 
such little things, only about 6 inches long, they are liable to 
be smothered or lost in the crops that may be cultivated on 
the land, even though stakes be driven near each tree, as 
recommended on another page. 

If set in nursery rows the first year, in good soil well 
cultivated, and weeds kept down, the surface always kept 
mellow, the young trees will have attained a much better 
growth than they would have done set in orchard ground 
and only partially worked. They should at the close of the 
year have attained a growth of from 3 to 5 feet, and be ready 
then for removal to their permanent position in the orchard. 

BUDDING AND CLEFT GRAFTING. 

These methods of improving the quality of our fruits are 
now so seldom resorted to it is hardly worth while to spend 
much time in describing the processes. 

It is such an easy matter to raise a young root-grafted 
apple, peach, pear, or plum tree, and in the South such trees 
come so early into bearing, probably budding and grafting 
will seldom be resorted to here. Still, as some reader may 
come into the possession of an orchard, the fruit of which is 
not satisfactory, and may wish to bud or graft the trees with 



212 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

wood from some better varieties, we think best to give a few 

brief directions. 

BUDDING. 

This is done in the South any time in the summer when 
the bark will ' 'rise' ' or "run' ' well, say from June to October. 
It is well to cut your buds the same day you wish to use 
them, but if this is not convenient they may be kept several 
days in a bottle, tightly corked, not pouring upon them any 
water. They should be cut, and all incisions made in graft- 
ing should be done with a sharp, thin bladed knife. Blossom 
buds are of course to be avoided. The leaf buds which form 
at the axils of the leaves are what are required, and of these, 
those should be taken both for budding or grafting, which 
while they are plump and well grown, are not upon long 
jointed, sappy wood. Those preferred are such as grow on 
well developed, but short jointed, wood ; such buds or scions 
being usually found at or near the ends of the lateral branches. 
Cut out the bud by inserting the knife one-half an inch above 
it, then drawing the knife downward parallel with the line of the 
branch removing not only that portion of the bark in which the 
bud sets but a small portion of the wood beneath it ; the knife 
is then drawn still downward and out, three-quarters of an 
inch below the bud. Some persons reverse this, inserting the 
knife below the bud and cutting upwards. Either will answer, 
the main thing being a smooth cut with a keen, thin bladed 
knife, and that the root of the bud be not disturbed. The 
bud is then ready to be inserted. This is done by making a 
T cutting in the smooth bark of the young shoot or tree, the 
perpendicular cut being about an inch in length, the other 
about three-quarters. The bark is then carefully lifted on the 
sides of the upright cut, and the lower part of the bud sliver 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE, 213 

pressed down into the opening, until the bud is just below 
the cross cutting, when that part of the bark of the bud sliver 
above the line of the horizontal cut is cut off to match that 
cutting, and the bark of the stock is then tied in place, press- 
ing down on each side of the inserted bud ; being wrapped 
about, both above and below the bud with a piece of woolen 
yarn, thus covering all up with the tightly drawn yarn but 
the bud itself with the leaf stalk attached, the leaf itself being 
cut away, excepting a small portion, say an eighth of an 
inch wide which is usually left upon the leaf stalk. The string 
or yarn should not be drawn so tightly as to cut into the bark, 
but only so as to press the bud down well upon the inner juicy 
bark or cambium, of the stock. If it is desired that the bud 
shall take the place of the main shoot of a tree and form a 
new head, it is well to insert it low down upon the stem near 
the ground, but this can be done only in young trees, say of 
one or two years' growth. 

Buds should be inserted on the north side of the tree or 
branch where practicable, but if not, they should be shaded 
from the sun but not from the light, with paper caps, tied 
above them. If the bud takes, and starts to grow, the wrap- 
pings of twine must soon be loosened or they will cut into the 
bark and injure the growth of the bud. Cotton yarn, the 
inner husks of corn or strips of tough bark are sometimes used 
in the place of woolen yarn; the material is not so important 
as that an even pressure be had until the bud has started to 
grow in its new location. 

When it is certain that the bud is growing well, other 
shoots and leaves above it should be removed gradually, 
either that season or the next, so that all bearing wood may 
grow from this inserted bud. 



214 SOUTHERN, farmer's, GARDENER'S 

CLEFT GRAFTING. 

Scions should be cut for this purpose at the same time 
as those for root grafting, namely, any time in the very late 
fall or winter when there is no frost in the wood, and should 
be stored in a cool, dry place, covered in sawdust or dry soil 
to keep the air from shriveling them, until spring opens. 

The proper time to graft apple or pear trees by the cleft 
grafting process, is when all danger from frosts is past and 
the buds upon the trees have begun to swell. 

Part of the limbs or upper branches of the trees to be 
grafted should then be sawed off with a fine saw that will not 
tear the bark, and with a chisel the stump should be split down 
about 2 inches, the bark at each side of the cleft being pre- 
viously cut smoothly with a knife to prevent its being torn. 

A narrow chisel or wooden wedge is then driven into the 
cleft, opening it wide enough to admit the scions on either 
side of it after they are prepared as follows : A piece of 
a scion having on it about four or five buds is taken, and the 
wood is cut away at the lower end from the base of the lowest 
bud, in a long wedge form, leaving the wood a little thicker 
on the outer edge of the wedge than on that which is to set 
toward the center of the limb, so that where the bark of the 
scion and the stock come together the pressure will be a little 
greater. The important thing is to have the barks of the 
two coincide on their outer edges, for unless a union takes 
place here the sap cannot pass up into the scion and it will 
die. As soon as the grafts are inserted, the chisel or wedge 
should be carefully removed and the top of the limb and the 
cleft should be covered and filled in with grafting wax, or 
"composition," as it is sometimes called, made according to 
the formulas on another page. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 215 

The next year, if these grafts have " taken" and grown 
well, cut away other limbs from the tree further down and 
graft these, and the third year the lowest limbs can be taken 
off, so that finally the entire top of the tree will be renewed 
and it will soon become a valuable bearer. 

VARIETIES OF APPLES SUITED TO THE SOUTH. 

In giving a list of apples suited for Southern culture it 
should be remembered that different parts of this territory 
having varied soils and conditions have each their local favor- 
ites ; the kind that suits one district may not be found to do 
well in another. Let it be understood then that the follow- 
ing is only approximately correct: 

EARLY VARIETIES OF APPLES. 

Yellow Transparent; Early Harvest; Red June ; Red 
Astrachan ; Yellow June. 

AUTUMN AND WINTER KEEPING APPLES. 

Ben Davis; Missouri Pippin; Springdale, introduced by 
Hon. W. G. Vincenheller at Springdale, Ark.; Rome Beauty; 
Arkansas, or Mammoth Black Twig; Shockley; Jonathan; 
Winesap; Arkansas Beauty; Ingram; Rawle's Jannet ; 
Limber Twig; Kentucky Red Streak; Huntsman's Favorite; 
Bailey's Sweet; Hoss (for cooking and fall drying). 

For planting in the lowland, cotton belt region, south of 
the Appalachian and Ozark ranges, we recommend the "TuU 
Apple," an Arkansas seedling, large, beautiful, red striped, 
which does not rot on the trees, maturing perfectly, a reg- 
ular bearer and winter keeper; also the "Yellow Forest," 
another excellent winter keeping variety, originating in 
northern Louisiana. 



216 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

In setting out an orchard for profit it is better to have 
the trees mainly of but few sorts and those of the varieties 
that have proved best suited to the locality ; the best market 
varieties and surest and heaviest bearers. The mistake of 
planting the wrong sorts of trees is a fatal one, as when they 
come into bearing and your money should be coming back 
to you, it is a bitter disappointment for you then to find you 
have made a mistake in the varieties and have to begin all 
over again. 

If you have a large number of trees all of one variety 
ripening their fruit at the same date, and these of a good 
market sort, the apple dealer will find it out, come and see 
you and make a bid for your fruit as it hangs on the trees, 
and pick, barrel and ship them himself, whereas if you have 
ten trees each of fifty kinds, he cannot "o this, as they will 
not be ripe at the same time, and you must peddle them out 
in small lots and sell them as you can. 

If on the other hand you wish the orchard to furnish 
fruit for family use only (a small orchard), it is well to have 
many kinds ripening in succession. 

One thing only should be noted in this connection, and 
that is, that an entire orchard set with but one kind is not to 
be recommended. Trees should have those of other varieties 
set among them so that the blossoms of one will impregnate 
those of other sorts, 

CULTIVATION. 

Young apple trees need cultivation just as much as corn 
does ; this can be done to good advantage by planting cow- 
peas, Irish or sweet potatoes, cabbages, melons, cucumbers, 
beets or other root crops between the rows, so that while 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 217 

you are cultivating the one, the other will be benefited ; 
small grains are not recommended. 

It is useless to expect good results unless the soil about 
the growing trees is kept mellow, is reasonably rich, and fun- 
gous diseases and insect enemies are watched and fought. Let 
us then say a tew words about the insect 

ENEMIES OF THE APPLE. 

The first to be mentioned is the woolly aphis, from whose 
pernicious activity many Northern and some Southern apple 
growers have suffered. Above ground this insect shows up 
with minute eggs enveloped in a cottony substance upon the 
bark or in crevices and crotches of limbs. When hatched 
the insects also are covered with a white, cottony down, and 
appear as little patches of frosty looking matter, that when 
crushed by the finger yield a bloody looking thick liquid. 
These animals do great damage to the tree when in this stage 
of their being, but soon they enter the ground changing to 
lice which eat the roots, destroying the tree, if it is not pos- 
sessed of such vigor as to be able to throw out new roots 
faster than the aphis can eat off the older ones. 

When this destructive insect has fastened itself upon the 
roots of the tree, there seems to be no effectual way of fight- 
ing it, but when it comes up again at breeding time in the 
spring it should be fought sturdily. Sometimes the insect 
comes out also late in the fall, just before the leaves fall, and 
may be seen on the stems and limbs of the young trees like 
patches of white frost. A wash of kerosene emulsion (see 
formula further on in this book) should be applied with a 
brush to the stems and larger branches and roots of the 
young trees, after which apply melted resin and fish oil, 



218 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

equal parts, to the exposed portions of the trees, then raise 
the earth a little around the tree and pack it down tightly 
with the foot. 

Frequent examinations and washings with kerosene or 
carboHzed emulsions are recommended, while any trace of 
the insect remains. 

CODLING MOTH. 

When the trees come into bearing, the codling moth 
will be likely to lay its eggs upon the blossom end of each 
young apple. The birds will destroy a great many, but 
others will gnaw their way into the core of the apples, 
appearing as a whitish maggot. 

Remedies — Arsenical solutions (Paris green or London 
purple) applied by spraying, just after the blossoms fall, to 
be repeated ten days or two weeks later. 

Turn your pigs into the orchard a few months later, 
when apples that have been attacked fall off, or pick up the 
apples as fast as they fall, and see to it that the worms are 
destroyed. Put cloth bands around the trunks of the trees, 
examining at intervals of seven to nine days for larvae and chry- 
salids; a hay rope placed around tbe tree serves the same 
purpose. Frequent examinations are necessary in the sum- 
mer, as the moths hatch out in the hot weather in a shorter 
time than later in the season, some remaining over winter in 
the pupa^ state, but probably if the trees are well sprayed no 
other precautions will be necessary , 

THE APPLE TREE BORER. 
This insect attacks not only apple trees, but quinces, 
and some other members of the family of the Rosacea, and 
in some parts of the United States is very destructive to 
apple trees. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 219 

The egg from which this grub comes is deposited by 
the female beetle early in the spring in the bark of the tree 
near the ground. It eats through the bark, and the next 
season eats its way on into the wood, and afterward usually 
•works upward in the trunk a few inches. It may be traced 
by the dust it throws out, and killed with a piece of wire 
run into the hole, or by putting into it pieces of camphor, 
sulphur or other offensive matter, and plugging it up. 

To prevent the attacks of this insect, wash the trunks of 
the trees with melted rosin and fish oil, as recommended on 
another page, or with a strong lye from wood ashes, or with a 
preparation of whale oil soap, or soft soap and pulverized sul- 
phur, assafoetida or other offensive matter, mixed with clay 
and water to the consistence of cream. One application of 
whichever wash is chosen should be made in the early spring 
of each year, and if it is washed off, as may be the case 
with the soap, sulphur and clay preparation, by heavy 
rains, it should be repeated at once. 

Almost all kinds of moths, such as that of the borer 
and codling moth, may be destroyed by lamps set low in 
pans, pails or tubs half full of soapsuds, and lighted at 
night. The moths are attracted to the light and fall into 
the water. Wide-mouthed jars or bottles containing a little 
water, sweetened with molasses, hung in the trees, are fatal 
to great numbers of these pests. The destruction of one 
moth is equal to the killing of hundreds of borers, they breed 
so fast. 

Let it not be supposed, however, that the South is 
greatly troubled with any of these pests. There are districts 
in this part of the country where nothing has ever been done 
to arrest their ravages, and yet where good crops of apples 



220 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

are produced nearly every year; still in these orchards 
probably there are some varieties which the codling moth 
ravages, and other sorts, whose stems are punctured by the 
borers, and doubtless as orcharding becomes more extended 
in the South, these pests will increase here, therefore it is. 
recommended to fight them at once. 

THE LEAF CRUMPLER. 

Professor John T. Stinson writes of this insect as follows : 
"The clusters of withered and crumpled leaves which are 
the cases of this insect, are easily detected and readily recog- 
nized from the figure in which (b) shows the cases as they 
appear attached to the limbs. The moth makes its appear- 
ance about the latter part of May or the fore part of June* 
The eggs are laid on trees which will afford food for the 
worms. The worms are about one-third grown when winter 
sets in. They construct their places of abode, which are the 
cases seen in the figure. These cases are long and slender,, 
figure {a) . The silken threads that hold the withered leaves 
to the case also hold it securely to the limb of the tree. The 
larvae pass the winter in these cases. They can be found in 
them at this time of the year (December), and are from one- 
fourth to one-third of an inch in length. Its length when full 
grown is about two-thirds of an inch. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 



221 




LEAF CRUMPLER. 

a. Larval case; b. Larval case with dead leaves; 
c. Front part of larvae ; d. Moth, magnified. 

As soon as the warm weather of spring comes, and the 
buds expand the crumpler resumes its activity and commences 
feeding on the leaves and buds of the trees. This is when it 
does its greatest injury, the extent of which cannot be well 
estimated. Its growth is completed during May when it 
goes into its chrysalis stage to appear during the last of the 
month or the first of the next as an adult moth. The dam- 
age from this insect in some localities is considerable, especially 
to young trees and nursery stock. In this locality it is found 
upon the apple, plum, quince, and perhaps upon other trees. 
Hand picking is the best remedy, as the insect has but one 
brood a year, and by picking these cases from the trees and 
destroying them, the increase can be checked." 



222 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

DISEASES. 

The diseases most troublesome to the apple, are the 
scab and bitter rot, which affect the fruit, and the leaf blight, 
which attacks the leaves and probably the young bark of 
apples, quinces, mulberries, and many other plants. Scien- 
tists who in these days wisely put everything under the micro- 
scope, tell us the 

LEAF BLIGHT 
which is not the same as the pear blight, this probably being- 
from a different cause, is a fungous growth, having its origin 
in the yellow viscid masses that hang as parasites upon the 
branches of red cedar trees. Spores or seeds are carried in 
the air from these fungi (which in dry weather are shriveled 
and brown but in a wet time are red, viscous and liver-like),, 
and fasten themselves upon the leaves, etc., of apple and 
other trees and vegetable growths, producing brown spots or 
blotches that spread until the leaf dies and drops off in mid- 
summer. Trees are in this way stripped of their leaves^ 
through which they breathe, and by which they grow. 
Usually a few new leaves will then start out upon the ends of 
the branches before frosts come, and so the tree is kept from 
dying outright, but they are never healthy and of course can- 
not bear full crops of perfect fruit. In the case of the quince,, 
the fruit itself is often attacked by the disease and it is not 
certain but that the apple bitter rot is from the same or a 
like cause. 

REMEDIES. 

First, cut down every red cedar tree growing on your 
farm, or if you have only one or two as ornamental trees in 
your front yard, see to it that every particle of the fungus, 
which is brown and shriveled when the weather is dry and 



AND FRUTT RAISER'S GUIDE. 223 

of a jelly like red when a rain comeSj is removed and burned. 
To leave even a single lobe of this fungus on any cedar is to 
jeopardize your orchard. The cedar is one of the most 
beautiful trees, and we are sorry to condemn it, but it must 
go unless some remedy can be found which will destroy these 
fungous growths upon it. If the cedar trees are small, doubt- 
less the blight may be successfully fought upon them by sev- 
eral thorough sprayings with Bordeaux mixture each spring 
until all trace of the disease is gone. This may be worth 
trying. 

Second remedy. Spray all infected fruit trees with Bor- 
deaux mixture. Spray them several times in the season, 
both before and after the leaves come out. 

SCAB, AND BITTER ROT. 

Scab affects the leaves and fruit on the outside, while 
bitter rot goes to the heart of the apple. They are doubtless 
both of fungoid origin, and the remedy for either is the 
same, namely, thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture 
(copper salts and lime). 

Scab flourishes in cool, damp weather of spring or 
early fall. In hot, dry weather its growth is checked. Early 
in the spring pale green spots appear on the young leaves, 
these increase in size, and later in the summer they become 
brownish in color and cover the leaves, which curl up and 
finally die. It is on the fruit, however, that the most dam- 
age is done. Apples no larger than peas are attacked and 
fall off, and those that stay on the trees are small, knotty and 
misshapen, and have scab spots, rough, brown or black, and 
cracked deeply into the fruit, which is rendered practically 
unmarketable, excepting for cider, and often not even good 



224 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

for that. Careful experiments at different experiment sta- 
tions and fruit farms, have shown that spraying with Bordeaux 
mixture increased crops of salable apples from 300 to 1,000 
per cent over those unsprayed in the same orchards ; and 
not only so, but the fruit was much finer and by test was 
foiind to keep much longer and better than unsprayed fruit. 

Bitter rot, which attacks some varieties of apples badly 
and others not at all, is first noticed as a small, round, brown 
spot on the side of the apple, appearing usually when the 
fruit is from half size to fully grown. It soon spreads and in 
some cases covers nearly the whole apple, which often 
shrivels up and dries on the tree, but in any case, whether it 
remains upon the tree or falls off, it is valueless. 

To plant varieties not subject to this disease, or to spray 
with Bordeaux mixture, are the only known remedies. 

The apple at the South, however, is no more subject to 
diseases than in other parts of the United States, and in fact 
in those parts of it where apples flourish best we think it is 
not as much so; many orchards are here, bearing fine crops 
every year, where no spraying or other doctoring has ever 
been done. 

Bordeaux mixture is prepared as follows: 

Sulphate of copper (bluestone) 6 pounds. 

Quicklime 4 pounds. 

Water _ 45 to 50 gallons. 

Dissolve the copper sulphate in 4 gallons of hot water 
in a barrel. Then slack the lime with the same quantity of 
water in another wooden vessel, and when cool and reduced 
to the consistency of cream, strain it into the barrel containing 
the copper solution. Strain carefully so that it may be 
perfectly smooth and fine, so that it will not clog the sprayer. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 225 

For very early spraying (before the leaf buds open) the 
following, which is very easily prepared and applied, is 
recommended: 

Sulphate of copper i pound. 

Water 25 gallons. 

An addition of one-fourth pound of Paris green or London 
purple (two arsenical preparations) may be made after the 
apple blossoms have fallen (the bees will be poisoned if this 
is done while the trees are in blossom) . In this way codling 
moths, and other insect enemies will be destroyed while the 
scab and bitter rot are being fought. Care must be taken 
in the use of the Paris green or London purple, as they are 
deadly poisons. 

For using these, and all other spraying preparations a 
good sprayer is necessary. A good knapsack sprayer can 
be bought for $9 ; or a barrel sprayer at from $8 to $25. 
The cheap bucket sprayers are of no value for orchard use 
and will only do for a small city lot where there are but half 
a dozen trees or so. The continual replenishing of the supply 
of spraying mixture to a small bucket pump increases the 
labor to such an extent as to make the use of such a sprayer 
in an orchard almost impracticable. It is better to spend a 
little more money on the sprayer and have one that saves 
time and labor so greatly. Every sprayer is or should be 
provided with a vermoral nozzle, so that a fine, delicate 
mist may be directed to any part of the leaves or branches, 
and the mixture, especially where Paris green or London 
purple are used, should be frequently stirred or agitated to 
prevent the chemicals from settling. 

The cost of spraying materials is not very great ; sul- 
phate of copper (bluestone), costs usually about 7 cents per 

P IS 



226 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

pound; Paris green, 25 to 30 cents; London purple, 16 to 
20 cents per pound. 

PRUNING. 

Apple trees require very little pruning. The usual 
course is to cut the young trees back when first planted, to 
about 24 to 30 inches from the ground, so they may head 
low. Subsequent pruning has for its object the cutting out 
of crossing and weak limbs and superfluous growth, in those 
varieties which have a habit of sending out many branches ; 
or of cutting back those sorts whose tendency is to grow a 
few long, spindling limbs. In other words, trim so as to se- 
cure, as much as possible, round symmetrical tops, that are 
not too crowded with small branches. 

Dr. Warder, in his American Pomology, says: 
"First, we prune for shape and comeliness, and for the 
removal of dead and dying branches in aid of nature, but 
working in sympathy with her. 

Second, we prune for the sake of inducing fruitfulness." 
He adds: '^Pmne in winter for wood; in summer for 
fruit. ' ' 

He also recommends to "trim down, not up,^' by which 
he undoubtedly advises to shorten in trees rather than to al- 
low them to grow tall and spreading. This treatment, how- 
ever, must depend somewhat, he intimates, upon the habit 
of growth of the tree, and we should also say that where 
crops are to be grown between the rows, this might lead to , 
some modification of the shaping of the trees. Volumes 
have been written on the subject of pruning, and authorities 
have different theories, and advise different methods, but it 
is generally conceded that small limbs and twigs may be 
trimmed off to advantage any time in the summer when your 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 227 

knife or fine saw is sharp, or in the winter when the tree is 
not frozen. Cole, in his American Fruit Book advises when 
it is deemed advisable to cut off large limbs, to do it in the fall ; 
if done in the spring he found the sap oozing from the wound 
caused rotten cavities that were very injurious to the trees. 

PEACHES. 

The peach is said to have originated in Persia, in the 
same latitude with the middle South, and certainly here it 
finds favoring conditions of soil, climate and seasons, and 
bears large crops of delicious fruit. If the Southern farmer 
has a location suited as to soil and topography for peaches, 
and a good home market in some large town, or has good 
shipping facilities to the North, there is nothing that can be 
made to yield him a better return than a peach orchard set 
with the best grafted sorts, well worked and cared for. 

A location and soil similar to that recommended for 
apples, will be found desirable for peaches, a northern slope 
being preferable at the South for both of these fruits, being 
less affected by droughts, and also retarding the time of 
blossoming until danger from late frosts is over in the spring. 

Grafted trees are preferable to seedlings in raising peaches 
for market, as the latter cannot be depended upon to give 
uniform results as to time of ripening, or quality and size of 
fruit. 

The same thorough preparation of the soil, and direc- 
tions in regard to setting the trees advised for apples, apply 
to peaches; excepting that the latter can be set much 
nearer together than apples, some growers planting them as 
close as lo feet apart each way, or 435 trees to the acre. 
Whether set as close as this or not, they should be regularly 



228 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

pruned back every year, shortened in each spring, to keep 
the branches stocky and low. 

For the first four or five years after setting, cowpeas, 
root crops, or strawberries, can be grown between the rows, 
but at a distance of 3 or 4 feet from the stems of the trees. 

After this they will shade the ground too much to make 
this profitable. The ground, however, should be plowed 
every year (shallow working being preferable) until the 
trees are fully grown, and if the ground is not naturally 
rich, it should receive top dressings at times of lime, ashes, 
ground bone, nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, or well 
rotted manure ; applying these not immediately about the 
stems of the trees, but broadcasting it over the whole 
surface of the ground and harrowing it in. The best time 
to make these applications is in the latter part of winter, as 
the farmer then has time to attend to it, and the spring 
rains wash it in. If applied late in the summer, they are 
apt to stimulate a fall growth of immature wood, which does 
not go through the winter well. 

Peaches at the South have a long ripening season, 
extending from the latter part of May to November, the 
best sorts ripening in July and August. The earliest peaches 
have not heretofore been found very profitable for shipment, 
in fact they rarely ripen satisfactorily, rotting on the trees 
just before their maturity. This is true of the Amsdens, 
Alexanders, and Arkansas Travelers, which are almost, if not 
quite, identical sorts. Southern growers are very desirous of 
finding an extra early peach of fair or good quality that 
produces well and does not rot on the trees. 

The Crosby, a "frost proof" variety, large, handsome, 
yellow, freestone, sweet, delicious, with very small pit, is 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 229 

well worth trying, so also is Clingman's May peach, origi- 
nating at Homer, La. This is a very early freestone peach, 
blooms late, large, prolific, flesh white, deep crimson skin, 
delicious in flavor. It is recommended by the introducer to 
those wanting a good early peach. 

LIST OF PEACHES FOR THE SOUTH. 
FREESTONE VARIETIES. 

Clingman's Early May, Brigg's Red May, June i ; 
Beatrice, June i to lo ; Troth's Early, June 20; Foster, 
June 20; Honey, June 25 (for the Gulf States) ; Crawford's 
Early, July 5 to 15; Pallas, July 10 (for the Gulf States) ; 
Elberta, July 10 to 20; Early York, July 15; Crosby's 
Frost Proof, July 10 to 15 ; Globe, July 15 to 31 ; Crawford's 
Late, July 20 to 30; Stump the World, July 20 to August 
10; Josephine, August 10; Wonderful, August 20 to 30; 
Lord Palmerston, September; Salway, September. 

CLINGSTONE VARIETIES. 

Old Mixon, July 20; Lemon Cling, July 25 ; Indian 
Blood, August I to 15; Old Newington, August 15 ; White 
English, August 30; Heath Cling, September i to 15; 
Florence, September 15; October Beauty, October 5; Tin- 
ley's October, October 15 ; Albright's October, October 20; 
Meadow's Winter, November i, and will keep to December 
I, if handled carefully and kept in a cool place. 

The above lists are only approximate ; each Southern 
State has its favorite local varieties, that are doubtless excel- 
lent, our design is to quote those which have been thoroughly 
proved and found productive and adapted to the South. 

Among the mid-season peaches now attracting the most 
attention at the South, is the Elberta, a large, freestone 



230 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

peach, 9 inches in circumference, very juicy, melting, and of 
good quality ; color, yellow, with a brightly colored red cheek. 
It was esteemed the best out of 14,000 seedlings. It is a heavy 
and regular bearer, exceedingly attractive in market by its 
size, beauty of color and excellent quality. It is esteemed as 
a great money making peach, by growers who have tried it. 
It is a native Southern variety having originated in Georgia, 
and is now being planted in that State by the hundreds of 
thousands. 

Peaches begin to bear early in the South, and are as long 
lived as in any part of the United States. At three years 
from setting out. trees often produce a good crop, and when 
in full bearing the best varieties yield at the rate of from 300 
to 400 bushels to the acre. Choice peaches will bring from 
$1 to $2 per bushel net, 10 acres of peach orchard often 
yielding from $4,000 to $5,000 from a single crop. A good 
profit can also be made by evaporating the fruit, which should 
be first peeled and stoned to secure best prices, although good 
results are obtained without peeling. A good evaporator 
being necessary to secure best results. 

Mr. A. W. Poole, of Ozark, Ark., has trees in his orchard 
that bore fruit in 1892 and 1893 which sold at prices equal 
to $1,600 per acre. 

The peach crop of the Delaware and Chesapeake Pen- 
insula in 1893 was 6,000,000 baskets, which were sold at an 
average price of 35 cents per basket, or $2,100,000 for the 
crop. 

The peach crop of the South, that raised in the Caro- 
linas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and 
Louisiana, can never overstock the markets, coming forward 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 231 

as it does from a month to two months before other more 
Northern grown fruit is ripe. 

INSECT ENEMIES. 

The only insect enemies to the peach, are the peach tree 
borer and the curculio. 

The first is to be fought by cutting them out of the 
bark, just above the roots, at the surface of the ground ; this 
should be done twice a year, in May and September ; an 
expert man can "worm" 3 acres a day. 

The curculio is not very destructive where pigs are 
allowed to run in the orchard, or all fallen fruit is removed 
and fed to the hogs. Spraying, however, with Bordeaux 
mixture, made with rather more lime than is used for apples 
or grapes, and in which a small portion (say 2 ounces to 50 
gallons) of Paris green has been mixed, is said to kill them. 

DISEASES OF THE PEACH. 

That much dreaded disease the "yellows," has never 
shown itself to any extent at the South, and trees that are 
well wormed every year for borers are usually healthy. 
These same borers, however, will kill peach trees in a few 
years, say six or eight, if they are not destroyed. It is 
recommended to bank up the earth about the trees in the 
spring, letting it stay until the middle of September, when it 
should be raked away and the trunk left bare until the follow- 
ing spring. 

PEACH ROT. 

The early peaches, and in fact some of the later ones, 
are troubled by the decaying of the fruit on the trees, before 
or just at the time of its ripening. This disease seems to be 
kindred to what is known as bitter rot in apples and pears, 



232 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

and in fact may come from some cause similar if not identical 
with that described on page 222, which microscopists tell us 
spreads from the fungous growth upon the red cedars. 

Dr. Warder, in his "American Pomology," quotes from 
an address delivered by Dr. Kirtland before the Ohio Pom- 
ological Society, in which the idea of a fungoid cause for 
this trouble is strongly maintained, and spraying with cop- 
peras {^sulphate of iron) highly recommended. At the date 
of the publication of Dr. Warder's valuable book, nearly 
thirty years ago, spraying was in its infancy, and the use of 
Bordeaux mixture (copper, salts and lime) had not been 
tried, as it has in later years. 

The peach, however, is a very sensitive tree. Arsenical 
poisons, such as Paris green or London purple, must be used 
with great care, and it is an open question whether the ordi- 
nary fungicides, such as Bordeaux mixture, etc., can be used 
safely on peach trees. We recommend the farmer to make ex- 
periments for himself if any varieties he grows are troubled 
with this disease, using upon some of his peach trees very 
weak copper and lime solutions, Bordeaux mixture, and on 
others sulphate of iron (copperas) and lime solutions, prepared 
in the same way as Bordeaux mixture is made, or copperas 
alone. For fungous growths on all other trees, vines and 
plants, the Bordeaux mixture is the best known remedy; in 
fact it is indispensable to the raising of perfect apples, grapes,, 
etc., in some localities, both North and South ; but it may 
be found upon trial that an iron solution (copperas) is pref- 
erable for use on peach trees. 

As there are plenty of varieties not subject to the rot, 
Southern fruit growers will find no difficulty in setting peach 
orchards that will pay large returns. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 333 

PACKING AND SHIPPING. 

As almost everybody is aware, peaches in the South and 
West are usually packed for market in one-third bushel boxes, 
and the ordinary shipper seems to think that if his fruit is 
sound, not too ripe, and the finest ones put on the top of the 
box, he has struck the very best methods in this particular; 
but investigation will show that he has not. The fact is, the 
preparation of the fruit for shipment should begin while it is 
growing upon the trees. In other words, trees should not 
be left to bear all the fruit that sets, or many of them will be 
small. Thin out the fruit, removing them by hand or with a 
hook, so that each twig 4 inches long has one peach, 8 inches 
two, and 12 inches three. By this practice your fruit will 
be much finer and larger than if all had been left to grow. 

When the fruit is nearly ripe it sliould be gathered hy 
hatid d^nd carefully assorted m three grades, and packed and 
marked according to quality on the boxes ; the best No. i, 
second quality No. 2, and third No. 3, or culls. Upon the 
No. I's and No. 2's you should stencil your name and post 
office address, putting no address upon the third grade. 

Quoting from one of our large Southern growers of 
peaches, he says : 

"A friend of mine shipped forty boxes of those Colum- 
bian and South American peaches ; he is a perfectly honest 
old man, and his peaches were good. But he filled up those 
boxes with small peaches put in between the large ones. His 
boxes weighed 3 pounds more than mine. I shipped to 
the same house, and received $1.35 per box ; he received 
45 cents." 

The advantage of grading the fruit thoroughly is very 
apparent. But when it is so graded, it should be so billed 



234 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER* S 

to the commission merchant to whom it is consigned, after 
this manner, say : 

"20 boxes peaches grade No, i. 

"20 " " " No. 2. 

"10 " " " No. 3." 

This will call his attention to the difference in the 
qualities, and he will sell them accordingly. 

It will be found that it always pays to grade fruit, even 
small fruits, such as berries, letting each grade be sold upon 
its merits, rather than ''topping" the boxes with a better 
grade than that below. In this case it is certain that 
honesty is the best policy. It pays best, and for this 
reason, if for no other, we advise the shipper to grade his 
fruit. 

PLUMS. 

The plum is native to the South and will do well on 
any soil that will produce corn ; and now that spraying is so 
largely introduced, the curculio is no longer feared. For 
this pest and for other insect depredators upon apples, 
peaches, or plums, a few young pigs are also a good 
medicine, as they eat up the falling fruit and destroy the 
next crop of insects. But if you have potatoes or arti- 
chokes in the young orchard, you will have to keep the 
pigs out, and use the insecticides by spraying. 

Plum growing at the South has been very profitable ; 
the average net price to the grower for the past ten years 
having been $2 per bushel. The trees are usually set I2 
feet apart each way, and at six years old will often average 
a bushel to the tree, or 300 bushels to the acre, which will 
net the grower $600 ; or $6,000 from a lo-acre orchard. 
Plums bear transportation well and are sent to market in one- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 235 

third bushel boxes. By planting three or four different 
varieties, the bearing season can be extended over three 
months, so that the work of picking and shipping need not 
come all at once. 

The favorite varieties are Wild Goose, Damson, Green 
Gage, Lincoln, Wolf, and the Japanese varieties. Abundance, 
Burbank, Kelsey, etc. There is good money in plums in 
the South and those who have tried find it so. 

A cool, moist northern slope, well drained, with a rich 
clay or loam soil and clay subsoil, is the best site for a plum 
orchard, and the best fertilizers to be applied are salt, wood 
ashes, marls and swamp muck; but even with none of these, 
plums on tolerably good ground, produce excellent crops at 
the South. 

The ground should be worked the same as is recom- 
mended for apples or peaches ; and root crops can profitably 
be grown between the rows while the trees are young. 

ENEMIES OF THE PLUM. 
The curculio is the only enemy of the plum to be much 
feared at the South (and with spraying, using a weak solu- 
tion of Paris green or London purple, the latter being the 
cheaper form of arsenic, i pound being sufificient for 200 
gallons of water) , this pest is effectually fought or killed off. 
As the curculio breeds from early spring until the first of June, 
several sprayings will be necessary, say every ten days from 
the time the blooms fall until three or four sprayings have 
been given. The Japanese varieties are almost, if not en- 
tirely free from the attacks of curculio, and the Abundance or 
Botan of the Oriental sorts is eminently successful; it bears 
enormous crops, commences to bear very young, is beautiful 



236 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

in appearance, very sweet and juicy, of excellent flavor, and 
being firm, and coloring finely before it is thoroughly ripe, it 
bears transportation admirably. The Southern farmer and 
fruit raiser cannot do better than to plant freely of this beau- 
tiful fruit. 

The climate of the South is well suited to the growing 
of either the German or Italian prune, and the midsummer 
weather enjoyed here is admirably suited to the curing of 
them. A great field is here open to the enterprise of fruit 
raisers. 

The black knot which has been so troublesome to North- 
ern plum growers, has not been very destructive at the 
South, neither has the fungoid trouble, known as the rot^ 
been very prevalent. If, however, either of these enemies 
should appear, they are now readily fought off by spraying 
the affected trees with Bordeaux mixture. 

A remedy for the curculio is proposed in the Ohio Valley 
Farmer, by Mr. Walker, of Kentucky. As soon as the fruit 
is attacked, take a tin pan into which soapsuds have been 
placed to the depth of an inch or so ; place it in the tree 
and place a small glass globe lamp in the middle of the pan 
which permit to burn all night. In darting toward the light, 
the curculios strike the glass and are precipitated in the 
liquid, from which they are unable to extricate themselves. 

We have never tried this method, and so do not know 
how it will succeed, but other insects are destroyed in this 
way, and it may be effectual with the curculio. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 237 

PEARS. 

The pear is one of the finest fruits the Lord ever made, 
and the South is the place to grow them to perfection and of 
the finest flavor. 

In the South are found many old trees bearing annual 
crops of large, luscious pears, many of them doubtless native 
seedlings. The Le Conte, which originated in Georgia, has 
made good money for many planters in that and some other 
Southern States, on red clay lands, which have all the chem- 
ical properties required by the pear. The Le Conte and 
Keifer pears, although they are not perhaps entirely blight 
proof are almost so, and if they were only finer in quality 
would be nearly all that could be desired. 

Mr. William Jennings, of Georgia, gives his method of 
the management of these trees as follows : 

"Begin with one-year-old trees, which are really the 
best for orchard planting. Three feet of the top should be 
cut off before planting, or, in other words, the tree should 
be cut back to 2 feet, 

"During the summer some of the low buds should be 
rubbed off, throwing the growth into the upper bud. This 
top bud should make a growth of from 5 to 8 feet, and dur- 
ing the following winter should be cut back to 4 feet from 
the ground, 

"Subsequent pruning consists in annually cutting back 
the leader, and the longer branches, and removing the inside 
branches. A Le Conte pear should at 5 years be of sym- 
metrical cone shape. If the leader and longest limbs are 
annually cut back, leaving the leader somewhat the longest, 



238 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

and the useless buds and limbs removed, the tree naturally 
assumes the shape described. 

"At 5 to 6 years old the tree commences to form fruit 
buds and will require but little pruning thereafter. An 
average I2 year old tree is 30 inches in circumference above 
the collar, 20 feet high and 20 feet wide. * * * yV^ 
find them profitable and so treat them generously." 

Our own experience would not sanction the use of stim- 
ulating manures for pear trees. It causes them to throw out 
too large a growth of long immature wood, deranging the 
shapeliness of the tree and predisposing it to blight. 

Ashes and lime are exceedingly valuable fertilizers for 
the pear, and salt in moderate amount sown broadcast in the 
spring around the tree as far as the roots extend, which reach 
out beyond the longest branches. A good location for a 
pear orchard is a northern slope on loamy soil, with clay 
subsoil, and if these have gravel intermingled or rest upon a 
porous shaly base so much the better. If the land has not 
good natural drainage and you cannot furnish it by good 
under or surface drainage, you had better not set pear trees 
there, for they will be unhealthy, dwarfed and die soon. 

Pears on suitable soils and best locations are very long 
lived. Cole's American Fruit Book gives instances of pear 
trees now in vigorous life and bearing, that are from fifty to 
several hundred years old. One in England is mentioned, 
the branches of which have bent down and taken root until it 
now covers half an acre of land. Another tree near Vincennes, 
111., bore 184 bushels of fruit in 1834. It is still living. 

Pear trees can be propagated from the seed and budded 
in the root, or from suckers where they spring up from the 
roots of the parent trees, or by cuttings. If by the latter 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 239 

mode, the cuttings should be started in a shallow box filled 
with sand which should be kept moist, and at an even, warm 
temperature. Set the cuttings sloping in the sand, packing 
it tightly around them. 

We do not recommend the use of dwarf trees, which 
are obtained by grafting the pear on quince stocks. At the 
South standards are the best, and longer lived. 

Pears sell well, bringing from $1.50 to $2 per bushel, 
and at this rate should net the grower from $800 to $1,200 
per acre. 

The principal drawback on successful pear culture, North 
or South, is the fire blight or pear blight, a disease of which 
the origin is so far, unknown. 

It usually attacks the trees in midsummer, when the 
growth is most vigorous, and the tree is seemingly in the 
very best of health. Just then some of the leaves turn black 
in one or two spots near the ends of the branches, and from 
that beginning the disease spreads downward until, if severe, 
and amputation is not resorted to, the tree dies. If there is 
fruit on that part of the tree affected, it shrivels and turns 
black, or brown. 

No spraying with any chemical has yet been found, that 
would either prevent or cure this disease. The only plan 
suggested by the most eminent horticulturists is the prompt 
use of the pruning knife and saw; but even these are very 
often ineffectual to save the tree. 

Other modes of treatment have been suggested from 
time to time, but we believe none have been found specifics. 
One of these is to bore auger holes into the stems of the 
trees and fill them with sulphur, others advise to drive iron 
spikes into the trees, others still advise a plentiful use of 



240 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

scraps of iron and iron filings or furnace slag around the trees. 
Others suggest that trees attacked by blight have been too 
much stimulated by manures and plowing or working of the 
ground, and recommend that no animal manures be used, 
that the ground about pear trees should not be cultivated, 
but that grass be allowed to grow there. We are inclined 
to think there may be wisdom in these latter suggestions, 
and that it is not desirable to stimulate the trees to a rapid 
growth. We advise to keep animal or stimulating manures 
away from them, and to plant only those kinds found free 
from or least subject to blight. 

We should also advise an occasional spraying, especially 
in the early part of the season, and up to midsummer, with 
the following: To a very weak kerosene emulsion add i 
pound of sulphate of iron (copperas) and i pound of sulphate 
of copper (blue stone) each dissolved in i gallon of boiling 
water; add thereto the kerosene emulsion, prepared by 
mixing i pound of bar soap cut into thin shreds, or i 
quart of soft soap, dissolved in i gallon of hot water, then 
add 2 gallons of kerosene oil and stir rapidly until a frothy 
mixture is formed. Take 4 pounds of fresh quicklime, 
slake this with 6 gallons of water, and when cool and in a 
creamy state, strain it through a piece of coarse sacking 
into a barrel holding, say 50 gallons; fill the barrel half 
full of water, add the kerosene emulsion and the dissolved 
blue stone and copperas. Fill up the barrel with water and 
apply this by spraying (a good knapsack sprayer will be 
found the most convenient to use). This should be applied 
all over the trunk and longer branches, and if any falls upon 
the leaves it will not injure them. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 241 

The scale insect sometimes fastens itself upon the twigs 
and bark of the pear, feeding upon the sap of the tree, 
greatly weakening it. The use of the mixture above de- 
scribed will destroy many of these pests. It is a good plan 
as the trees get older and the bark rough, to scrape it with a 
deck scraper or a piece of hoop iron. 

VARIETIES OF PEARS FOR SOUTHERN PLANTING. 

Wilder, best early market, very productive, June, July. 

Bartlett, large, good, productive, July. 

Clapp's Favorite, delicious, June, July. 

Le Conte, July. 

Tyson, melting, fine flavor, July and August. 

Flemish Beauty, large, vigorous tree, August. 

Beurre Clairgean, large, regular bearer, September. 

Duchess d'Angouleme, September. 

Kieffer, September to October. 

Vermont 'Beauty, October. 

Many other varieties may be found as good or better in 
some parts of the South than the above, but these are given 
as suited to general planting here. 

RIPENING PEARS. 

As soon as pears are fully grown, begin to drop from 

the trees, and some are sufificiently mellow to be eaten, those 

on the trees should be gathered carefully by Jiand. The 

pear should no more be knocked from the trees, and bruised 

by falling upon the ground than Concord grapes should be 

treated in this manner. If you wish to render your pears 

unfit for market, knock them off; but not otherwise. After 

careful picking, they should be spread on newspapers in a 
p 16 



242 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

store room, and covered with woolen blankets. In a few 
days pick out the ripest and sell or use them, and so on till 
all are ripe. Some recommend to wrap each pear in soft 
paper, and pack them away in boxes in a dry, warm place; 
but as you cannot then see how each pear is ripening without 
unwrapping them all, we prefer the former method. 

CHERRIES. 

Some sorts of cherries do well here, especially the 
Morello, Early Richmond and the Louisiana Ironclad, orig- 
inating at Homer, La. This last named is especially well 
adapted to Southern culture — is vigorous, hardy, enormously 
productive; fruit large, dark red, growing in clusters, often 
twenty on a twig 6 inches in length ; flesh acid, but juicy and 
pleasant. Cherry trees should be headed low, and shortened 
in at the south, so as to protect the trunk from the sun. They 
will do well on most of the upland soils of the South, but 
prefer a deep, mellow, well drained loam. Tops of hills or 
moderately fertile plateaus, are well suited to this fruit. They 
do not need excessive stimulating by rich soils or the use of 
manures, as this will cause them to grow too fast, when the 
bark is liable to be split by the rapid expansion of the trunk. 

A wash made as follows applied to the trunk and larger 
branches of the trees will be found beneficial, preventing the 
attacks of scaly and other insects, such as borers, etc., and 
keeping the bark smooth and in healthy condition. 

Resin 3 pounds. 

Caustic Soda i pound. 

Fish Oil Yi pint. 

Water to make 10 gallons. 

Directions: Place the resin, caustic soda and fish oil 
in a boiler or kettle, pour over them 2 gallons of water and 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 243 

cook thoroughly over a brisk fire for at least three hours ; 
then add boiling water, a little occasionally, and stir well 
until you have 9 or 10 gallons of hot solution. Never add 
cold water while it is cooking or the resin will be precipitated, 
and it will be difficult afterwards to get it in solution. Apply 
while the mixture is still warm, but not boiling, with a 
sprayer, brush, or swab, to the trunk and large branches. 
This will also be found an excellent wash for apple, plum, 
pear, or quince trees, as a preventive of the ravages of 
borers, etc., but should not be put upon the foliage, as it 
will kill it. It should be applied while warm. 

Cherry trees can be set, and will do well every 16^ 
feet each way, or eighty-three to the acre. 

It has been heretofore accepted as a settled fact that the 
finer sorts of cherries, such as the Black Hearts, Biggarreaus, 
May Dukes, etc., will not do well at the South, but it is an 
open question yet as to what spraying will be able to accom- 
plish for these fruits. The application of copper salts in the 
form of Bordeaux mixtures, etc., may be found specific for 
fungous diseases, and the arsenical solutions for curculio 
and other insect depredators, and it may be found after all 
that plenty of fine cherries can be raised here. It certainly 
seems rather strange that in countries with climates similar 
to that of the middle South, such as France, Germany and 
Italy, fine cherries are grown abundantly, while here they 
cannot be. The great trouble seems to be that they will not 
set fruit, although .they blossom fully; perhaps this trouble 
may in some way be overcome. We do not say they can be 
raised, but would recommend that our farmers, fruit growers 
and experiment stations try each a few trees, give them three 
or four sprayings each year, and watch and report results. 



244 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

QUINCES. 

Quinces do as well here as anywhere ; they are usually 
shy bearers, and the trees have to have age to show best 
results, somewhat as orange trees do in the orange growing 
States. The quince is not particularly partial to one kind of 
soil or location, but will do well either in cool, moist situa- 
tions, near the borders of streams, or on gravelly hills with 
good culture and manuring. 

The trees (for it is best to train them as low trees, 
rather than as bushes) can be set 8 or lO feet apart, and 
they should be shortened in and superfluous twigs trimmed 
off to stimulate fruit bearing. Moderate applications of salt, 
sprinkled on the ground at some distance around the tree, 
have been recommended, but we doubt their being of much 
use. 

The main points in our opinion are to keep off the leaf 
blight by spraying with copper salt solutions, and to prevent 
the attack of borers that sap the vitality of the trees, by 
swabbing the trunks every year, from the time they are set 
out up, with a resin and caustic soda and fish oil wash, as 
directed in the foregoing article on cherries. 

These two pests, the blight and the borers, are the 
main causes of failure in raising quinces, and both can easily 
be overcome by faithful and timely applications of the 
remedies mentioned. 

The leaf blight, originating, as it .undoubtedly does, 
from the red cedar fungus, as we have explained elsewhere, 
not only attacks and kills the leaves, but grows upon and 
poisons the fruit, causing it to grow misshapen, to rot on 
one side, and finally to drop off immature and ruined. It 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 245 

seems to be kindred to the apple scab and bitter rot. 
Thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixtures will be found 
very efficacious in the treatment of this disease. 

GRAPES. 

L. H. Bailey, of Cornell University, in his "Annals of 
Horticulture for 1893," states that the money invested in 
the New York, Chautauqua and Lake Erie grape district is 
$1,000,000; that the business gives employment to 15,000 
persons the year round, and that the grapes net the raisers 2 
cents to 2^ cents per pound, or from $40 to $50 per ton. 
He adds that "it is these facts and figures that have induced 
so many people to go into raising grapes. * * * There 
has been a demand for grape land, and at the present time 
the price ranges from $100 to $200 per acre without a vine 
on the soil." ( ! ) What a commentary this is upon the prices 
of Southern grape lands, which can now be bought at from 
$3.50 to $5 per acre. 

Good, well-rooted grape vines of the leading varieties 
can be bought at from 3 to 5 cents each in lots of 100, or even 
at less prices by the thousand. 

The growing of early grapes for the Northern markets, 
offers an inviting field to the Southern horticulturist. The 
leading early varieties are — 

Early Ohio, black, fair quality, early and productive, 
June. 

Champion, black, poor quality but very early and 
prolific, June. 

Hartford Prolific, black, quality not very good, 
July I. 



246 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Ives' Seedling, black, quality fair, a leading market 
sort, July 10 to 30. 

WoRDEN, black, similar to the Concord, but larger, 
better, and few days earlier, July 15 to August 15. 

Moore's Early, black, highly recommended by some 
growers, but we have not found the vines vigorous or pro- 
ductive. Do not recommend it for Southern planting. July 
1 to August I . 

Concord, black, sweet, the leading market grape (but 
we prefer the Worden). July 25 to August 25. 

Delaware, red, berries small, sweet, flavor excellent. 
July 15 to August I. 

Wyoming Red, handsome, bright color, berries small, 
not as good as Delaware, but not so subject to rot, bears 
well, good market grape. July 15 to August i. 

Niagara, white, sweet, handsome, prolific, ships well, 
July 20 to August 20. 

POCKLINGTON, white, not as handsome or good as 
Niagara. July 20 to August 20. 

MODES OF CULTURE. 

The cheapest and perhaps the best mode of culture for 
grapes at the South is to train them up on stakes driven per- 
pendicularly into the ground. These should be of well 
seasoned post or white oak, 3 by 4 inches, and 7 feet long. 
When the ground is moist from rains these, if sharpened, can 
be easily driven with a maul or sledge hammer, 6 inches 
north of each vine, the vines being set 7 feet apart each way. 
These stakes should be set the second year, the first the 
vines being allowed to grow at will without any pruning or 
training, the object being to let the plant acquire strength 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 247 

of root and vigor of growth. Then the vine should the next 
winter be trimmed back to two main canes, and these short- 
ened to one-half their length, all other branches being cut 
away. Tie these up to the stake with narrow strips of strong 
cotton cloth and the coming summer let these canes grow 
at their own sweet will, pulling off, however, all other 
shoots that may start from the main stem. The next 
winter, when the weather is fine and there is no frost on the 
vines, cut back one of the canes to the two lowest buds, from 
which<will grow two other canes for the next season. The 
one cane not cut back, is the one upon which fruit may be 
looked for. 

The old German plan is to bend this on a damp day 
in the winter into the form of a hoop, say of 2 feet in diame- 
ter, which is tied firmly to the stake. This method is said to 
partially arrest the flow of the sap and send it into the growing 
bunches. The next winter this hoop is all cut away, the 
hoop for the next year being then formed from one of the 
two canes which grew from the two lowest buds left the year 
before; the fellow cane being again cut back to two buds. 

By this arrangement new bearing wood is secured each 
year. The bearing wood on any grape vine is always the 
shoots that grow this year, frorn the wood that grew last year. 
Study this statement thoroughly and you will have the key 
to grape pruning and culture. 

Another method, is that called spur pruning, which con- 
sists in training the vine straight up the stake, and in the 
winter cutting back each lateral branch to one bud, from 
which branch grows the bearing wood the next spring. 
Vines are also trained on wire trellises, the wires being 
stretched horizontally, one above the other, three or four 



248 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

wires i8 inches apart being used. Still another plan is the 
stretching of the wires overhead about 6 feet from the 
ground telegraph fashion, thus giving room to plow both 
ways beneath the trellis. 

If vines are to be trained on a trellis, they should be set 
further apart than in the stake arrangement, some growers 
setting them as far apart as 14 feet in the rows, the rows 
being 7 feet apart. 

The posts for a trellis should be 4 x 6 inches of good, 
well seasoned oak, cedar or mulberry. (If cedar can be 
secured for stakes it is better for this purpose in case the 
stake plan is followed, as nearly all other woods decay soon, 
necessitating the driving of them in deeper into the ground 
as they rot off). The stake plan has the recommendation of 
being much the cheapest, saving the cost of large posts^ 
which if not of cedar or mulberry, rot off nearly as quickly 
as the stakes do, and of the wires. 

A summer pruning is recommended by such experienced 
viniculturists as Geo. Husmann and A. S. Fuller. This, if 
d'one at all, should be done with great discretion upon poor 
uplands, as the taking away of too much foliage, followed by 
hot, dry weather, and, where vines have not been sprayed , 
by the denuding work of the leaf-folding worms, will have a 
tendency to weaken the vines. On richer ground and where 
vines are strong, healthy growers, and blight and insects are 
well fought off by spraying, a judicious pruning is advisable. 

This summer pruning is done by nipping off with the 
thumb and finger the ends of the bearing sprouts, just be- 
yond the third leaf above the last bunch of grapes, as soon 
as the racemes, or bunches of blossoms, show well upon the 
vines, thus throwing the sap into the grapes. 



•AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 249 

LOCATION AND SOIL. 

A cold, wet, undrained piece of ground, a low flat, a 
damp valley along a creek should never be taken as the site 
for a vineyard. Choose a hillside or gentle upland slope; 
the lay of the land, to the north, south, east or west, is not 
so important as that it have a good, friable, deep loamy soil, 
and good natural drainage. It is best that the slope be not 
so great that it cannot be plowed easily in any direction. 

Let all stumps be removed and the ground thoroughly 
broken with a large plow and a strong team of horses or 
oxen. There is no danger of breaking it too deeply. This 
work should be done before the vines are set, no after culti- 
vation will give as good results if the thorough breaking of 
the soil has been neglected. 

The best fertilizers for the grape are said to be bone 
meal, ashes, common salt, nitrate of potash, leaf mold or 
swamp muck composted with cow manure and leaf mold 
until the mass is perfectly homogeneous, fine and well decom- 
posed. Liberal applications of this character well worked 
in between the rows will be found to add to the vigor and 
productiveness of the vines. 

DISEASES. 

All the efforts of the vineyardist to obtain good full 
crops of perfect and marketable grapes will fail if that 
dread disease, the peronsopora viticola, or grape mildew, 
attacks his vines. Fortunately, however, he now knows what 
the remedy is and can apply it readily and cheaply. 

In this case the vines must be sprayed with Bordeaux 
mixture at least three times in the spring, once just as the 
first young sprouts start on the vine, again as soon as the 



250 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

grapes are as large as small peas, and the third time from 
ten days to two weeks later. 

The average yield of an acre of good vines in full bearing 
taking one year with another, is found to be about 6,000 
pounds or 3 tons. This is what you should work, cultivate, 
fertilize, train, trim and fight off enemies for, so that you 
may gain such a yield. More than twice that amount have 
frequently been raised in the best vineyards of America east 
of the Rocky Mountains. 

THE SCUPPERNONG GRAPE. 

The Scuppernong is a native grape of the Southern 
States, a distinct variety that needs no pruning, bears pro- 
digious crops of large, delicious, sugary grapes, of a russet, 
golden-yellow color when ripe. They should be transplanted 
not later than February and set from 30 to 50 feet apart, and 
will in a few years cover almost any extended trellis that 
may be given them. It is best to prepare a permanent 



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\ 


\ / 

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arbor, which should be of cedar or some other indestructible 
wood, with posts 4 to 6 inches square, 8^ feet long, set 18 
to 24 inches in the ground. These may be set 12 or 15 feet 
apart in square form with one in the center, on the south side 
of which the vine should be set, and a flat trellis constructed 
from one to the other as shown in the diagram. This trellis 
can be extended as the vine grows larger. It need not be 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 251 

built until the third year after the vine is set, as this vine is 
a slow grower at first. 

The Scuppernong does not take kindly to fresJi manures, 
and all fertilizing should be done upon the surface and worked 
in with a fork or plow. When in full bearing immense quan- 
tities of fruit are produced upon each vine, which can best 
be harvested by shaking the branches over a cloth, made 
hopper fashion, over a large, flat basket or wagon bed. This 
vine cannot be propagated from cuttings but by layering, 
which should be done any clear, warm day in February. If 
delayed later than this it is almost impossible to get them to 
take root. 

BERRIES. 

STRAWBERRIES. 

The first thing to be sure of in strawberry raising (as is 
also measurably true of other fruits) is that your location is 
right as to a good, near-by market, or has good shipping 
facilities, so your crop can reach the consumer in prime order 
and with little delay. 

The following directions for the cultivation of straw- 
berries are given by Dr. H. McKay, a noted Southern small 
fruit raiser : 

"Having selected fair medium land, with good yellow 
or red clay basis, latter preferred, sloping, if possible, to the 
south or southeast, plow and work thoroughly and then lay 
off in ridges or beds as if for cotton or corn, but letting the 
middle of the bed rest on two deep subsoil furrows, and 
elevated 3 to 5 inches above the general level ; rows being 3 
to 3^ feet wide and run so as to secure good drainage. Set 
the plants in the center of these beds from 12 to 15 inches 
apart, and about an inch deeper than they formerly set, 



252 • SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

pressing the earth tightly about the roots. For early plant- 
ing, October and November, or late February and March. 
Some berries will be produced the following spring, generally 
100 to 300 quarts per acre, which, however, are not well 
suited for market, being more sappy and trashy from growing 
closer to the ground. If it is desired to pick these berries, 
give them only surface work with a sharp hoe, and commence 
the regular working after the crop is gathered. If this crop 
is disregarded, and work commenced earlier, the stools will 
be stronger and go through the warm weather better. In 
any case the working should continue upon thin land until 
middle of July, or on rich land until ist of August. 

"It is best to give two or three workings with the plow, 
following each time with the hoe, running the subsoil plow 
in the bottom of the turn plow furrow, so that the land is 
thoroughly broken and pulverized at least 8 or 10 inches 
deep. The grass is then allowed to grow for winter protec- 
tion and to keep the berries clean. No further work except 
very light surface hoeing until the crop is gathered the fol- 
lowing spring. 

"It is my deliberate conviction that cheaper and better 
berries can be made in this latitude on medium or thin land 
than on rich or highly fertilized." 

For early varieties at the South the best are Michel, 
Hoffman, Haverland and Crescent, the latter fertilized with 
Michel set every third or fourth row. 

The Arkansas Traveler, lately introduced by T. G. 
Michel of Judsonia, Ark. (the originator of Michel's Early), 
is a superb berry to come in a week later than the Michel. 
His advertisement of this grand, new berry will be found in 
the back part of this volume. In some parts of the South 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 253 

the Michel is planted solidly as the most satisfactory very 
€arly berry ; its extreme earliness being its recommendation. 
It is not quite as productive as Hoffman, Haverland or 
Crescent. For midseason berries the Bubach, Warfield, 
Charles Downing and Cumberland Triumph are recom- 
mended, and for late, the Gandy is peerless. 

We wish to add a few words to emphasize the directions 
given above for the culture of this fruit. 

Unless the strawberry raiser is ready and willing to work 
his berries every two weeks during June, July and August, 
no matter how wet or dry the season may be, he had better 
keep out of the strawberry business. If he is going to culti- 
vate corn, cotton, sorghum, sweet potatoes, etc., and neglect 
his strawberry beds, he had better have none; the plants 
will die out in the latter part of the summer, grass and weeds 
will smother them, and the crop he will get off the few plants 
that survive will not pay the cost of plants and setting. Treat 
your strawberries well and they will pay you well ; neglect 
them and they will amount to nothing. 

The following directions from a correspondent in a lead- 
ing Northern agricultural journal are of value as showing the 
amount of fertilization found profitable there: "Next to 
thorough cultivation of strawberries is proper fertilization. It 
is a mistake to grow strawberries on the same ground for 
several years in succession. The best way is to prepare the 
land and to have strawberries follow a crop of corn or potatoes. 
Many growers use about lOO pounds per acre of sulphate of 
potash before planting. The potash stimulates the growth of 
the plants, and adds to the quality of the berries, making 
them better colored and firmer. Barnyard manure may be 
applied with good results the year of setting out of plants, 



254 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

but care should be taken that the manure is free from grubs 
and weed seeds. Many a promising strawberry bed has been 
damaged by the grubs and weeds from manure. 

"A strawberry crop removes certain materials from the 
soil which must be replaced if we wish to keep it in good 
condition. According to chemical analysis the fruit and the 
strawberry plant both contain a large percentage of potash, 
and it is evident, and experience has proved such to be a fact, 
that potash should be a heavy ingredient in all fertilizing 
compounds for the strawberry crop. A good formula that 
has given excellent results is : 

"300 to 500 lbs. muriate of potash. 

"600 to 800 lbs. dissolved bone. 

"200 to 500 lbs. nitrate of soda. 

"Half of this is applied broadcast before crop is planted, 
half the remainder in the fall, and the balance early in spring. 

"The strawberry growers of Oswego County, N. Y., 
where berries are grown on a large scale for market, use from 
800 to 1,200 pounds of commercial fertilizer of good quality, 
containing about 10 per cent of potash, 3 per cent nitrogen 
and 8 per cent phosphoric acid. The best time to apply 
such fertilizers is in the fall as a top dressing. Some care 
should be taken that the caustic properties of the fertilizer do 
not injure the plant. It is good practice also to sprinkle a 
few handfuls of kainit in rows at planting, as this product 
destroys grubs and acts as a preventive of blight. 

"After the plants have borne one full crop in the second 
season from setting, they should be plowed under, and go to 
fertilize the soil. This will put the land in a better condition 
for the succeeding crop." 



AND FRUTT RAISER'S GUIDE. 255 

Very few if any of our Southern strawberry growers have 
done anything as yet in the way of artificially fertih'zing the 
soil of their beds, and yet as we hear many complaints from 
our larger growers, of diminished yields and lessened profits, 
there is undoubtedly need for experiment and outlay in this 
direction. 

Then there is the strawberry rust to be fought off with 
sprayings of fungicides. This spraying of strawberries is in 
its infancy as yet, but will doubtless have to be resorted to. 
RASPBERRIES. 

Of black cap raspberries we find the best for the South 
to be the Palmer. The Gregg and Tyler are both some- 
what subject to blight, but Palmer seems to be less subject 
to rust than some others and bears large crops, ripening well 
together. There may be a good late variety, but we have 
not discovered it. 

Of red raspberries the Turner leads as yet. The 
Cuthbert seems unsuited to the climate, and though it pro- 
duces some splendid berries, the crop is light and the canes 
die out. 

The Golden Queen is here a moderately strong grower, 
producing delicious golden colored fruit. 

The rust, or antliracnose , as it is scientifically called, is 
exceedingly weakening and disastrous to many varieties, 
killing the vines and lessening the crop of fruit on any that 
survive. The South is not more subject to this fungus than 
other parts of the country. 

We quote from a recently published article in a Northern 
horticultural journal, as follows: 

" The fungus first begins its attack when the new canes 
are 6 or 8 inches high. Here we have a hint as to when the 



256 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

spraying should be begun. In order to be successful, we 
must have the young canes protected by the Bordeaux 
mixture before the spores are formed. The applications are 
repeated at intervals of from ten to fourteen days. You will 
note that the manner of growth is such that the leaves will 
not interfere, seriously at least, until the third spraying or 
later. When the plants are in full leaf the vermoral nozzle 
must be thrust in among the canes. The spores can only 
enter young, succulent tissues, so the spray must be applied 
during the season of rapid growth. The disease already 
present cannot be destroyed. All that can be done is to 
prevent the germination of the spores. 

"In anthracnose the curling of the leaf indicates that 
the supply of sap has been cut off by the disease feeding on 
the cane below. The spread of the old scabby spots on 
these particular canes cannot be stopped. We recommend 
that the spray be kept from the leaves as much as possible, 
for the reason that the leaves of some varieties are very 
easily injured by Bordeaux mixture, and in the hands of 
persons unfamiliar with spraying, serious damage might be 
done." 

It may be found that with such treatment as is recom- 
mended above, the Gregg, Tyler and perhaps even the 
Cuthbert may be found vigorous and maintain themselves 
here at the South. 

A mellow loam soil is best suited to raspberries, and 
the ground should be deeply plowed. 

Set the plants 3 feet apart in the rows, the rows 6 feet 
apart. Ground bone is recommended as the best fertilizer, 
if the soil is not naturally rich enough. We have never used 
anything but well rotted manure, but it may be that ground 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 257 

bone is better, and that rust and blight are fostered by the 
use of animal manures. Plow them two or three times 
during the summer after the fruit is picked and give them 
light workings with the hoe. 

Raspberries are usually marketed in pint boxes, 48 pint 
boxes in a crate. They do not carry as well in quart boxes 
as strawberries do. As there are no hulls or stems, a pint 
of raspberries goes as far as a quart of strawberries, and will 
sell for as much or more money. They are a good and 
profitable shipping fruit at the South, where rust is fought 
off and the vines are vigorous. 

BLACKBERRIES. 

This noble fruit is well worthy of more attention than it 
has yet received from our Southern fruit growers. We find 
Early Harvest, Taylor, Ancient Briton and Warren all good. 
The Early Harvest, as its name indicates, is a very early 
berry, and valuable on this account, though not as sweet, 
rich or large as the others. 

Other varieties that are well spoken of are Georgia 
Mammoth, Crystal White, Kittatinney and Snyder. The 
Lawton turns black before it is ripe, but is excellent when 
fully matured. 

Blackberries will succeed on almost any soil, but on 
second bottom land that will produce good corn they give 
best results, bearing enormous crops. They should be set 
in rows 6 to 7 feet apart and 3 feet in the rows. Prune 
back in summer by pinching off the tops of the young shoots, 
leaving the canes to stand 3 to 3^ feet high. Do not prune 
in the spring. They should be plowed several times in the 
summer, and the soil kept loose and free from weeds near 
p 17 



258 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

or in the rows, with a hoe, but the roots should not be dis- 
turbed. In plowing throw the dirt toward the plants so that 
the roots may be well covered. 

RED AND BLACK CURRANTS. 
These cannot be recommended for cultivation at the 
South, They can be grown in the shade of a house or barn 
or on the north side of a fence, but the crop of fruit will be 
small. The best of Southern fruit growers have never, by 
mulching, pruning, spraying, or any other treatment, been 
able to do more than to just have the bushes exist, and 
bear a few scattering bunches. The trouble seems to be, that 
the South has too long a growing season for this plant, the 
leaves being shed at midsummer, and the strength of the 
plant being exhausted in growing a second set of leaf buds 
which are often frozen off in the winter. Perhaps some 
one in the future may produce a Southern seedling variety 
that may be productive and profitable here, but for the 
present we cannot advise their culture. We have tried for 
the past fifteen years to please our better half by raising this 
fruit ; but have never been able from six bushes of the red 
variety, to pick more than a tea-saucer full. The black 
varieties we cannot get to live. 

GOOSEBERRIES. 
Gooseberries can be raised at the South under favoring 
circumstances. Plant in good, rich soil, a loam being prefer- 
able; prepare the ground by deep, thorough plowing. Plant 
always in the fall, giving them a good top dressing of well 
rotted manure, wood ashes, lime, salt, or ground bone, 
applying these not all at once, but in rotation. Rotted wood 
earth from the wood pile, tan bark, or leaf mold from the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 259 

woods are also fine top dressings and mulchings, for goose- 
berries. They do best where the shade of a fence or of build- 
ings gives them partial protection from the sun, this is 
especially true of the English varieties. They require regular 
pruning every year, cutting out old wood as much as possible, 
shortening the stronger new canes one-third of their length, 
cutting out suckers and weak shoots so as to admit light and 
air. To prevent mildew, which North or South, is very liable 
to attack the berries, spray bushes as soon as the leaves ap- 
pear and several times during the summer with potassium 
sulphide (liver of sulphur), using i ounce to 4 gallons 
of water. This will prevent mildew, and upon gooseberries 
is preferable to the use of Bordeaux mixture for this purpose, 
it also keeps the foliage in good health and growing vigor- 
ously. Gooseberries can be more easily propagated by lay- 
ering than from cuttings. The best plan is to bank up the 
earth in the spring, say 8 or 10 inches around the plant from 
which you desire new plants, and the young canes will strike 
root at their bases under the embankment, and being cut 
away from the parent plant in the fall, are ready for trans- 
planting. The leading varieties are: 

Houghton, small, red, an old tested variety, very pro- 
ductive, a good market variety. 

Whitesmith, also an old variety; large, pale green, 
yellowish when fully ripe, good quality; bush moderately 
vigorous, very productive. 

Crown Bob, old English variety, large, red, hairy, 
good quality. 

Industry, red, best English berry, vigorous, bears very 
heavily, berries very large and excellent in quality. 



260 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Lancashire Lad, red, smooth skin, one of the largest 
and best English sorts. Bush a strong grower and pro- 
ductive. 

Keepsake, New England variety, straw color, large, 
excellent, very early, a sure cropper, and good market sort. 

Chautauqua, American seedling, strong, upright 
grower, very productive, color light yellow, large, excellent 
flavor. 

Downing, American, pale green, good quality, vigor- 
ous, usually free from mildew. 

Golden Prolific, American, fruit large, golden yellow, 
good quality, heavy bearer, free from mildew. 

Red Jacket, new American, red, large, good quality, 
very productive, a hardy strong grower, does not mildew, 
excellent market variety. 

Triumph American, light green, large, very productive, 
free from mildew, an annual bearer. 

MULBERRIES. 

This tree should by all means be set out plentifully by 
the Southern farmer, as it affords such a large amount of ex- 
cellent food for hogs and poultry. It is easily propagated, a 
rapid grower, and the timber exceedingly valuable for fence 
posts, as it is very lasting, does not need to be seasoned, but 
can be used at once as soon as cut. 

Mulberry trees may be set along the fences and road- 
ways, or in the chicken yard, and will drop their fruit for sev- 
eral months. It is claimed that a mulberry tree of one of the 
best varieties is worth each year as much as a barrel of corn 
in feeding chickens or fattening hogs. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 261 

The fruit of the wild mulberry is not of much account, 
but that of Downing's Everbearing and of the Hicks and 
Stubbs varieties is fine, large, sweet and beautiful. This 
fruit makes good pies or wine. 

The Russian mulberry is a rapid grower, attains an im- 
mense size, is very easy to propagate, and the timber is very 
valuable for cabinet work or fence posts, being as lasting as 
red cedar. Its fruit is good for poultry or pigs, but not as 
fine or large as the other sorts named. 

FIGS. 

Figs succeed best on well drained, very rich land. In 
the green state they are not a shipping fruit, but are very 
sweet and refreshing. They also make a fine rich preserve, 
a sort of marmalade. Figs dipped in a soda solution, 
Jhen when dry, washed and dipped in syrup, dried and 
boxed in the same manner commercial figs are prepared, are 
a good shipping product, and the more southern parts of the 
Southern States are eminently adapted to their culture. 

They can be easily propagated from rootlets and 
suckers from established bushes, and need very little culture. 
It is well, however, to cut out weak canes each year, 
throwing the sap into the stronger bearing branches. 

The leading varieties are: 

Brunswick, large, color violet, good, productive. 

Black Ischia, medium, black, sweet, prolific, hardy. 

Brown Turkey, medium, brown, sweet, delicious, 
hardy, regular bearer. 

Celestial, small, pale violet, sweet, prolific, hardy. 

Green Ischia, green, with crimson pulp, good, prolific. 

Large Blue, large, bluish purple, oblong. 



262 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

White Marseilles, very large, white, deep red flesh, 
excellent. 

Lemon, large, yellow, sweet and good. 

White Adriatic, large, white, excellent, the fig from 
which the finest dried Smyrna figs are produced, bears early 
and very heavily. 

Mandana, very large, purple, everbearing, apt to be 
killed down in winter, but sprouts up and bears again the 
next spring. 

Figs can just as easily be raised from the seed as cab- 
bages or radishes can be raised in a garden. Sow them in a 
shallow box in rich earth, shading it partially until the seeds 
vegetate ; the next fall set them out in the ground where 
you wish them to stand. Figs like a very rich soil. It is 
impossible to get it too rich for them, but if manures are 
used, they should always be thoroughly composted and 
rotten. 

Lime and ashes are fine fertilizers for figs. Some 
varieties of this plant are subject to the ravages of a blight 
or rust that kills down the ends of the young shoots. 
Spraying with Bordeaux mixture will undoubtedly be found 
beneficial. 

CRANBERRIES. 

We know of no reason why this fruit should not be 
grown at the South, or at least in the^|northern half of the 
Southern States, wherever lowlands of a marshy character 
are found. Land that is partially covered with water in the 
winter and spring is generally used for the growth of cranber- 
ries. They are easily propagated from sods cut in a cranberry 
marsh, and if set in a favorable location will soon extend 
themselves over many acres of ground. They do not grow 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 263 

readily from seeds, but sods procured in the fall and set in a 
damp, swampy place, will make a good growth the following 
season. A black, mucky soil is best suited to their growth, 
and as their after cultivation, outside of supplying them 
with water in the winter and at other times if the soil should 
become too dry, is almost entirely without expense, the net 
returns are quite large; as $ioo and upwards per acre are 
often realized. 

Cole says of it: "In some cases, it has been found 
growing spontaneously on high land, which has led to vari- 
ous experiments with this plant on common tillage, where it 
yields superior fruit, of extra size, and is more exempt from 
frost, so destructive on lowlands, where the thermometer is 
6 or 7 degrees lower than on high land. * * * * We 
saw fine cranberries of natural growth in a field, close by 
which the owner was reaping a good crop of barley. We 
examined the soil, and it was dry and sandy, with a layer of 
shallow vegetable mould at the surface ; yet apparently wet 
in spring from its level situation. Where a gravelly knoll had 
been reduced for a road, we saw excellent cranberries of 
spontaneous production, on dry, hard and poor soil. 

"With these cases of good crops under great disadvan- 
tages, it would be surprising if cranberries should not grow 
well on high land under good culture. * * * * i^ 
raising on high land, it would be well to select rather moist 
tillage, and use peat and muck for manure, which is their 
natural soil. We think that a black, moist, sandy loam 
would be best. It would be well to make experiments in 
the use of salt and other manure. Those plants that grow 
naturally on high land would doubtless be better for this 
purpose." 



264 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

It would undoubtedly pay to experiment with this fruit 
on our varied soils, climates and locations at the South. It 
would be well that their growth from the seed should be 
attempted, or that roots should be imported (they could be 
sent by mail) from those parts of the country where cran- 
berry meadows already exist. We hope that our Experiment 
Stations may take this up, and give us some light upon the 
subject. 

RHUBARB, OR PIE PLANT. 

This plant is esteemed for pies and tarts, being ready for 
use earlier than any other kind of fruit. It has an agreeable 
tart flavor resembling that of gooseberries, the part that is 
used being the thick leaf stalks, which are cut in thin slices 
and used the same as the flesh of apples. 

It succeeds in the more northern and mountainous parts 
of the Southern States, but it has been deemed impossible to 
prevent its dying out the third season, in the more southern 
parts of the country. It is propagated by cuttings from the 
root crowns or buds ; setting them in rows 3 feet apart, and 
2 feet apart in the rows, covering the top of the buds with 
about I or 2 inches of earth. It is generally recommended 
to plant rhubarb in very rich earth, but from our experience 
thus far with this plant, we are inclined to think that in the 
South it is more likely to rot and die if set in soil made rich 
with manure, even though it be thoroughly rotten. We rec- 
ommend to set it in a loam soil naturally rich, but not made 
so by manuring, and if the ground be enriched at all, let it 
be with ashes, or ground bone, supplying the potash and 
phosphates the plant needs, or with vegetable manures. We 
recommend that the planting of the sets be done late in the 
fall, say in October or November, as this will give the plants 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 265 

time before our long spring and summer warm weather comes, 
to get started in the growing of roots. 

It might be well, if you have such a spot on the farm, 
to set the plants on the north side of a stone wall or on some 
cool northern slope in the shade of a fence or building, but 
not so close to it as not to give room to work all around it. 
Set it then 2 or 3 feet from the wall or fence, and give the 
ground several shallow workings through the summer months, 
and continue this into the fall if the weather is dry and warm. 

It is not well to use the stalks the first year, as the 
removal of these weakens the plant; blossom stalks should 
be cut off, as the blossoms and seeds draw heavily upon the 
strength of the plants. 

It is best to provide a double quantity of plants, taking 
the stalks (fruit) from one section of the bed one year, and 
from the other the next, so giving the plants each a year's 
rest. This is not necessary at the North, but is recommended 
here. 

We cannot emphasize too strongly the desirability of 
having the ground thoroughly prepared by deep plowing and 
subsoiling, or trenching, before the plants are set, and letting 
all enriching matter of whatsoever sort is used (and it cer- 
tainly should not be of a fermentable character) be placed 
deep in the ground, and in no case come too near the 
plants. Let the earth around them be of as cool unferment- 
able character as possible. 

Plants can be raised from seed, but cuttings from the 
roots, with one or more buds or crowns on them, are recom- 
mended, as they come much quicker into bearing. How- 
ever it is desirable that some Southern horticulturist produce 
a variety, by raising it from the seed of a plant growing at the 



266 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

South that may be better adapted to our climate than 
Northern sorts. We hope this may yet be done. 

APRICOT. 

This is a beautiful tree, both as to bloom, foliage and 
fruit, but we think can never be cultivated at the South 
profitably on account of its very early blossoming, which 
dooms it nearly every year to be cut off by frosts. 

The fruit resembles a peach somewhat, does not grow 
as large as the larger peaches, has a stone very much like 
that of a plum, and some varieties are juicy and of a 
delicious flavor. 

We regard it as altogether too uncertain as to getting a 
crop, to recommend any Southern planter to waste money in 
setting it out. Japanese plums are fully as delicious and 
infinitely surer croppers. They are profitable, apricots are not. 




PART V. 



Nut Bearing Trees 

AND 

Other Special Crops* 

PECANS. 

•*^^^. 4* 

<^^ROBABLY there is nothing that will 
~^ prove a better life insurance at a less 
cost than a pecan grove. Pecans seem 
'*M«sB-Mtrtitclv'r- -1' to succeed on almost all kinds of soils 
\^yPw^'^'rUJ ^- in the South. The outlay for a lo-acre 
V. > 7i'm(.f iV^ grove of pecans is not heavy; it will 
j cost about as follows : 

Ten acres of improved land .$ioo oo 

Nuts, planting and working 50 00 

Interest and taxes, 12 years - 190 00 

Total cost $340 00 

If forty trees only are set per acre, and the yield the 

twelfth year but half a bushel to the tree and sold at $2.50 

per bushel, which is a very low price, would bring $50 per 




268 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

acre ; when twenty-five years old the trees will bear 5 bushels^ 
to the tree, or 200 bushels per acre, worth at least $500 ; or 
from a lo-acre grove the snug sum of $5,000 per annum. 
Surely, then, we are not in error in saying that pecans furnish 
an excellent life insurance policy at a very small cost. 

Nuts freshly fallen from the trees are preferred, as they 
sprout more readily than those which are older and dryer. 
If these cannot be obtained, soak the nuts from one to three 
weeks, or long enough to have them in the same condition 
as when fresh from the trees. Plant them 3 or 4 inches 
deep, either in nursery rows or where they are to remain. 

If planted in the field, the plantings should be 25 to 50 
feet apart, three or four nuts being put at each station, to in- 
sure a stand, all being removed the second year, but one, the 
strongest grower in the lot. The location of each hill or 
planting should be plainly and permanently marked by good, 
strong stakes, 4 or 5 feet tall, of oak, cedar, or some other 
lasting wood, driven firmly into the ground. 

Another plan is to plant the nuts in a nursery row. A 
wide, deep furrow is opened, into which a good supply of 
well-rotted compost or ground bone and cotton seed meal is 
placed. The nuts are dropped on this, about 10 inches 
apart, and pressed firmly into the soil with the foot. The 
planting can be done any time from the falling of the nuts 
until the ist of April. They should be kept clear of grass 
and weeds by good and regular cultivation, and this will pro- 
mote their strong and healthy growth the first year, which, 
if the soil is good and rich, should be of from 20 to 30 inches. 

The more liberal preparation and enriching of the soil 
you can give before planting nuts, or transplanting young 
trees, the better, as they grow much more rapidly and strongly 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 269 

in good soil; therefore, use plenty of good compost at and 
about the planting places. 

If you have grown your young trees in a nursery row, 
transplant the next fall as soon as they have shed their 
leaves. If you cannot do this, and the trees have to remain 
another year or more in the nursery, cut their tap roots (the 
main center root) by running a sharp spade under them 
about 1 8 inches deep. This will cause the young trees to 
throw out strong lateral roots. You can then let them re- 
main where they are for another year, or even two, if neces- 
sary. Some people have supposed that pecans and other nut 
trees would not grow and produce well, if the tap root is cut ; 
but the experience of our best pecan growers does not bear 
this out ; they do fully as well, and another tap root always 
grows out again, in soils suitable for pecans. 

It is recommended that particular care be taken in trans- 
planting, these trees, not to set them at all deeper than they 
stood before their removal. Let the tree stand 3 or 4 inches 
higher than the surrounding ground when finished planting, 
to have the proper depth. The after-cultivation should be 
thorough. The ground between the trees may be cultivated 
in a crop, such as potatoes or cotton, for the first five or six 
years and after that let them have their own way and take 
care of themselves. 

A good plan is also to plant peach trees alternately in 
the rows, if the location is a good one for this fruit, or plums, 
cutting them out when the pecans have grown large. 

The pecan begins to bear in some instances at five years, 
usually at six or seven. If the tree has had good attention, 
it nearly always blooms one year before bearing nuts. At 
ten years of age, you may expect a paying crop 45 pounds 



270 . SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

to the tree, increasing in quantity annually until the trees ar- 
rive at a mature age, thirty-five to fifty years. When the 
trees arrive at this age, they should be cut away to stand 50 
or 60 feet apart. 

BLACK WALNUT GROVES. 

The black walnut is another splendid nut to plant in the 
South, 

Prepare the ground as if for a corn crop, then lay it off 
in check rows 16 feet apart and at each intersection drive in 
a stake of dry oak or some other lasting wood and plant near 
this stake three or four nuts (just off the tree) to insure a 
good stand, removing all but one of the plants as soon as 
they are well established, the second year. 

If your seed-nuts are not fresh, soak them two or three 
weeks, and they will be pretty sure to grow. 

The placing of the stakes, to mark where the nuts are 
planted and where the trees shall stand, is highly important, 
as, if this is not done, when the trees are young and small, 
grass and weeds will cover them up ; and not being able to 
see them, they are liable to be plowed up in cultivating the 
land. 

Trees at 16 feet apart give 170 to the acre, and it is 
estimated that the fruit after the eighth year will be worth 
$40 per acre and after the fifteenth year double that amount, 
while the trees at their fifteenth year would furnish lumber 
worth over $2,000 per acre, or if allowed to stand until fifty 
years old would cut into lumber worth $8,500 per acre, and 
at the same time would each year have been producing nuts 
worth from $80 to $100 per acre. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 271 

Black walnut trees, like pecans, have long tap roots, and 
derive the most of their sustenance from the subsoils; and 
crops can be grown between and in the rows while the young 
trees are growing, to the advantage of the trees, and such 
crops can be made to pay all interest on the money expended 
in land, taxes, etc., while the trees are coming into bearing. 

The same thorough culture and enriching of the soil, 
which is recommended for pecans, should be given to black 
walnuts. 

ENGLISH WALNUTS. 

This tree is of two varieties — the common English, a tree 
of lofty growth, hardy and productive, but like the American 
black walnut, does not come into full bearing until it is twelve 
to fifteen years old; and the Paper Shell, or early-bearing 
English walnut, which begins to bear in from four to six years. 
The latter is very hardy, can be grown anywhere at the South, 
and as it blooms late, it escapes late frosts, and is a regular 
and profuse bearer. This variety originated in California, 
being a seedling from the original English, or as it is some- 
times called Spanish, walnut. The fruit is larger than that 
of its parent, and the shell so thin it can be easily broken by 
the hand. 

If fresh, green nuts can be obtained in the fall, trees can 
be grown from these, either by planting them where it is in- 
tended to have the trees stand, or growing them in a bed 
and transplanting them. 

In sprouting all seeds of the nut kind, it is well to have 
the bed in which they are planted partially shaded with a 
brush arbor, thus reproducing as near as possible the condi- 
tion of forest life, which is natural to the plant. When the 
sprouts appear above the ground, the shade should be par- 



272 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

tially removed, until at last all is taken away. The following 
fall or spring, the young trees should be transplanted to the 
field, or placed where they are to stand. 

Walnuts, and in fact chestnuts, should be given the same 
culture as apple trees; that is to say, the ground should be 
cultivated but with shallow culture. The English walnut 
should be set about 20 to 25 feet apart. These nuts sell at 
about the same prices as pecans, and an orchard of walnuts 
in good bearing is one of the most valuable pieces of property 
any one can have. 

ALMONDS. 

This is another nut well adapted to the South, and there 
is no reason why they should not be largely grown here. 
There are two varieties, the Hardshell and the soft or Paper 
Shell. 

The Hardshell sort bears a large, showy, ornamental 
blossom, and when the fruit is ripe the outer hull cracks open 
and the nut drops out. The soft shell variety is not quite so 
hardy as the hard shell, but would undoubtedly do well in 
almost any part of the South, excepting it might be upon the 
mountain plateaus. 

Almond trees should be set the same distance apart as 
peaches and given the same culture. 

CHESTNUTS. 

The American or sweet chestnut is native to the South, 
being found growing wild in the woods in several of the 
States, and all the varieties of this nut succeed here on trial. 

The American chestnut is a fine, large tree, growing 
symmetrically, and is very handsome as a shade tree. When 
fully grown, it bears large quantities of excellent sweet nuts, 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 273 

which find ready sale in any large town or city. We do not 
think anything has yet been done in any part of the United 
States in the way of growing chestnuts in orchards as a busi- 
ness, but it would doubtless be a profitable investment on the 
cheap lands of the South. 

SPANISH CHESTNUTS. 

This is also a very handsome tree, of somewhat more 
rapid growth than the American, and coming into bearing 
early, yields heavily of large and very salable nuts. This 
would be a very profitable tree to plant, commercially, at the 
South, as a net profit of $25 per tree is not unusual. 

Trees of the chestnut varieties can be bought from almost 
any good nurseryman, or may be grown from the nut by 
using the same precautions as are recommended for walnuts, 
namely, to plant fresh, green nuts, and to shade the ground 
and keep it somewhat moist until the nuts sprout. The 
price of the young trees at the nurseries is from 15 to 25 
cents each, according to quantity bought. 

JAPAN GIANT CHESTNUTS. 

This tree is of a dwarf habit, but bears very large nuts, 

hence its name. It comes into bearing much earlier than the 

American or Spanish varieties, commencing to yield fruit at 

from two to three years of age. It also bears very heavily, 

and doubtless would be a very profitable tree at the South 

where conditions of soil and climate are very similar to those 

in Japan ; it may also be stated that trees of the chestnut 

family thrive on land too poor to raise corn or wheat; in 

fact, their home seems to be poor upland ridges and slopes. 

In order to secure best results, however, they should be set 

as recommended for pecans or black walnuts, each one by 
p 18 



274 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

the side of a stake driven in the ground, and the soil about 
them given shallow cultivation through the summer to insure 
them against drying out and to cause them to grow vigor- 
ously. 

JAPAN WALNUT. 

This tree is another valuable acquisition from the Japs ; 
and when better known, will become a great favorite. 

It is found growing wild in the mountain regions of 
North Japan, and is said to be a very hardy tree. They 
grow with great vigor, and assume a handsome form without 
pruning; the leaves are very large and the foliage is ex- 
tremely beautiful, being of a vivid, clear green color. 

It is immensely productive, yielding good crops of nuts, 
which grow in clusters of fifteen or twenty, and have a shell 
somewhat thicker than the English walnut, but not as thick 
as that of the black walnut, the meat being sweet and prefer- 
able to that of any other member of the walnut family. The 
trees mature early, and are regular and heavy bearers. As it 
has an abundance of fibrous roots, it can be transplanted 
as safely as an apple tree. We do not recommend the appli- 
cation of fresh stable manures to nut trees of any kind ; they 
do not take kindly to any such application ; in fact, none of 
them, unless it be the pecan or black walnut, seem to flour- 
ish in very rich soils, and these best in places where the 
ground is naturally rich. Set chestnuts and English and 
Japan walnuts on well-drained upland ; in the fall, just as 
soon as the leaves have dropped, rather than in the spring, 
and then give them shallow cultivation, to insure a good 
growth, always setting a good, well-seasoned oak or cedar 
stake on the north side of each tree, so the plowman can see 
just where it is and avoid striking it with his whififletree. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 275 

ENGLISH FILBERTS AND HAZEL NUTS. 

The common filbert or hazel nut is native to many 
parts of the South, and the cultivated sorts do equally as 
well. They grow as a bush rather than as a tree, growing 
to a height of from 6 to lO feet. They are of easy culture, 
are hardy, abundant bearers, and succeed at the South wher- 
ever they have been tried. They can be set quite close to- 
gether, 6 feet apart each way giving them ample room. 

The "Kentish Cob" is one of the finest and largest of 
this family; in fact, a distinct variety, being long in shape 
and nearly twice as large as the hazel nuts sold in the stores, 
and is known in England as the filbert. These nuts are 
rarely ever imported into this country as an article of com- 
merce, but are much finer and more delicate in flavor than 
hazel nuts. 

Filbert and hazel nut bushes are easily raised from the 
nuts, sprouting them in a bed partially shaded and under wet 
leaves, or can be grown from suckers taken from an estab- 
lished bush. 

The United States affords a good market for hundreds 
of thousands of bushels, and they would be a very profitable 
crop on our Southern cheap lands, much more profitable than 
cotton or even corn in the long-run; as once established, 
they would need no further attention and involve no further 
expense, excepting to gather the nuts. 

The growing of nuts opens up a new field for profitable 
investment at the South ; and in fact, it is a matter of sur- 
prise that so little has been done in the United States either 
North or South in this business. At the South, especially, 
on our lands which are still so very cheap, and in a climate 



276 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

SO admirably suited to their growth, it is wonderful that so 
little has yet been done in the growing of nuts. 

For the intelligent farmer who will set out an orchard of 
nut-bearing trees, say of ten acres, one acre in filberts, two 
in pecans, two in black walnuts, one in American chestnuts, 
one in Spanish chestnuts, one in Japan chestnuts and two in 
early bearing English walnuts, there is an independent for- 
tune, or an income at ten years from setting of not less than 
$1,000 per year; in twenty years, of $2,000 per annum ; and 
at thirty years, of at least $4,000 per year; besides having 
black walnut and other valuable timber in the patch worth at 
least $4,000 more. 

BROOM CORN. 

This crop is best raised in drills, not in hills, although 
some growers plant it so. In drills, about 10 quarts of sound 
seed will plant an acre, the drills being 3^ feet apart. A 
kindly loam soil is preferred to a stiff clay or a sandy one, 
although any soil that will grow a good crop of field corn 
will grow broom corn, and it should be made rich by appli- 
cations of well rotted stable, pig or sheep manure, if not nat- 
urally so. This may be worked in after it is spread broad- 
cast, by the plow and harrow, or if the land is quite poor, can 
be applied in the rows. A grain drill which opens the rows, 
plants and covers the seed, all at one operation, can be used 
to advantage in the extensive growing of this crop. Land 
should not be run in broom corn more than two years in suc- 
cession, as it draws heavily upon the strength of the land; it 
is better, to alternate with root crops, clover or cowpeas. 

Broom corn should not be planted until the ground is 
warm, say the first of May in the Middle South, and when it 
is up, run between the rows with scooter and heel sweep, as 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. " 277 

described on page 12, or with cultivator or pony harrow, 
keeping the soil mellow and well stirred, but not deeply, 
working also with hoe close to the rows so that weeds and 
grass get no advantage. Thin out the plants when 2 or 3 
inches high to 6 to 8 inches in the rows, or three to six 
plants in the hill, according to the fertility of the soil. 

Long and straight staple is the melin point and this can 
be secured only by encouraging a strength growth by heavy 
manuring and good culture and by bending down the brush 
part, called "lopping off," at a point a foot or foot and a half 
below the brush. 

When ripe, that is, when the blossoms shed, cut the 
brush off at the point where bent over, with a sharp knife and 
lay the heads where they will cure perfectly straight, and dry 
under cover in a barn, shed or curing house. This curing 
will be perfected in three or four weeks, and can be best done 
on light slat racks, so that the corn can be dried in thin layers 
on the different slat shelves of the rack. When fully cured 
the seeds, by the old-fashioned method, were removed by 
combing them out in a hackle made of iron or hard wood 
bars with pointed ends set firmly upright, not more than a 
quarter of an inch apart, in a wooden frame, and this method 
can still be used where experiments are made in the growing 
of small patches of broom corn, but in cultivating this plant 
to any considerable amount, the removal of the seed is now 
rapidly done by machines run by horse power or steam. The 
broom corn should then be packed in a square bale, heads 
upon heads, the butts outside, evenly and smoothly, the 
length of the bale being 4 or 5 feet, and the height and 
breadth 2^ to^3 feet, with slats or thick laths at the corners 



278 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and sides (not at the butt ends), and all held in place by 
strong wire or heavy twine bands. 

The present price of broom corn is only from $35 to $70 
per ton, according to quality and length, but is sometimes 
worth about double these figures. That which has a green 
color and yet is perfectly matured and cured is esteemed very 
much better than that having a yellow or red appearance. 

Broom corn seed hackled out from the brush, though 
not sufficiently mature to use for planting, form a good feed- 
ing grain when ground with corn for hogs, sheep and poultry. 

Broom corn fodder is valuable for feeding purposes after 
the brush has been removed, and cattle should be turned in 
on it in the field to help themselves. The stalks make a 
good fertilizer and can be run through a corn cutter and cut 
3 or 4 inches long and put in the barnyard where they can 
be tramped down by the cattle and absorb the urine and other 
nitrogenous products, or they can be plowed under or burned 
in the field and the ashes used as fertilizers. The former is, 
however, the best way of securing the full value of their chem- 
ical constituents and making them useful. 

The following article is taken from a leading agricultural 
journal, and as it contains some items in regard to the culture 
of broom corn not given above, it will be of interest: 

"Though rich alluvial soils are best adapted to the 
growth of broom corn, it thrives well on such soils as are 
considered good for Indian corn, especially a rich loamy 
land not liable to late or early frosts. A very common 
practice, yielding good results, is to plant on greensward 
turned up late in the fall, that the action of the frost may 
kill the worms and assist in making it loose and friable. 
Clay lands have been found unprofitable for this, as they are, 



AND FRtm raiser's GUIDE. 279 

to a considerable extent, for Indian corn. Manuring and 
thorough culture are the great auxiliaries of broom corn. 
Horse and sheep manure are the best, though any other re- 
liable fertilizer may be used to advantage, if it does not cost 
too much. 

"There are different kinds cultivated in different locali- 
ties. The smaller sort, grown along the Hudson River, is ordi- 
narily the best crop, being some days earlier than the other 
varieties. It usually yields from 700 to 800 pounds of brush 
to the acre. The New Jersey, or large kind, usually yields 
1,000 pounds to the acre, and not unfrequently more. The 
stalks and seeds are larger, and the brush makes a heavier, 
coarser broom — not as desirable in many respects as those 
made of the finer brush of the small corn. 

"Broom corn is planted in rows about 3 feet apart, so 
that a horse can pass through with a cultivator. The hills 
in the rows are from 18 to 24 inches apart, though on many 
farms the custom prevails of sowing nearly in continuous 
rows or drills, by means of Emery's Albany Drill Barrow, 
which is well adapted to the work, saving much time and 
labor. The quantity of seed varies from i to 3 pecks per 
acre, according to the method of planting and the views of 
the grower. A small quantity of seed induces larger plants 
and more coarse brush, while the hills that have eight or ten 
stalks grow finer and produce a more valuable brush. 

"Broom corn, like other crops of this character, requires 
thorough cultivation. It should be hoed three times, — the 
last time as late as it is safe to work among it, which is often 
after it is 3 feet high. 

"The crop is usually harvested at the commencement of 
frosty weather, by breaking down the stalks 2 to 2 3^ feet 



280 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

from the top, and allowing them to hang a few days until the 
brush becomes straight and cdmpact, when it is cut off, leav- 
ing the stalks 8 to 12 inches in length, which are then put up 
in convenient sized bales — making an important article of 
commerce, always marketable, and bringing good prices. 
Thousands of tons are grown in Ohio and shipped eastward 
to New York and New England." 

St. Louis is a large Western market for broom corn, as 
very large quantities of brooms are made there. 

Sanford Howard, Esq., speaking of the culture of broom 
corn in the Mohawk Valley, where a very large acreage is 
planted, says: 

"The broom corn is not left to ripen as formerly, but is 
cut while it is quite green, and the seed not much past the 
milk. It was formerly the practice to lop down the tops of 
the corn, and let it hang some time, that the brush might 
become straightened in one direction. Now the tops are not 
lopped till the brush is ready to cut, which as before stated ,^ 
is while the corn is green. A set of hands goes forward and 
lops or bends the tops to one side, and another set follows 
immediately and cuts off the tops at the place at which they 
are bent, and a third set gathers the cut tops into carts or 
wagons which take them to the factory. Here they are first 
sorted over and parceled out into small bunches, each bunch 
being made into brush of equal length. The seed are then 
taken off by an apparatus with teeth like a hatchel. The 
machine is worked by six horses and cleans the brush very 
rapidly. It is then spread out thin to dry, on racks put up 
in buildings designed for the purpose. In about a week^ 
with ordinary weather, it becomes so dry that it will bear ta 
be packed closely. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 281 

"The stalks of the corn after the tops have been cut off, 
are 5 or 6 feet high, and they are left on the ground and 
plowed in the next spring. It is found that this keeps up the 
fertility of the soil, so that the crop is continued for several 
years without apparent diminution. It should be observed 
however, that the ground is overflowed every winter or spring 
and a considerable deposit left on the surface, which is un- 
doubtedly equivalent to a dressing of manure. 

"In case of need the stalks would furnish a large amount 
of good food for cattle. They are full of leaves which are 
very nutritive, and whether cut and dried for winter, or eaten 
green by stock turned on the ground where they grow, would 
be very valuable in case of deficiency of grass." 

TOBACCO. 

Tobacco is a filthy weed; 

It was the devil sowed the seed. 

So says some "machine poet." Be this as it may, and 
we leave the question of its origin to others, mankind seems 
to love it, and as a money-making plant in the South, it has 
a prominent place. Our desire is to give as briefly as possi- 
ble such directions as will enable almost any farmer to raise 
and cure tobacco, if not in the most scientific manner, in such 
a way as to produce a good merchantable article. 

In the year 1882, I. W. G. Wierman planted 15 acres 
in tobacco, in Saline County, Ark., of which he says: "No 
finer crop ever grew on American soil." We give here a 
few points in the growing of fine tobacco abridged from his 
directions. 

Sow the seed early in January, where a large brush 
heap has been burned, raking the ashes into the soil, then 



282 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

sprinkle the seeds over the bed and press them down with a 
flat board. Set out the plants in April — the earlier the 
better, when the weather is favorable. New land is not as 
good for tobacco as that which has been cropped for several 
years, but it should be rich or fertilized with wood ashes or 
well rotted manure, applied broadcast or in the hill. Set 
plants from 2 to 3 feet apart, according to variety. Nearly 
level culture is best. Work well and often; after a rain is a 
good time to cultivate it. 

Tobacco should be "topped" before it blossoms — how 
high or low is a matter of experience — about the eighteenth 
leaf from the ground is the general practice. All suckers 
should be pulled off before they are 3 inches long, but let all 
the leaves grow ; the lower leaves prevent the sun from dry- 
ing the ground about the roots, and protect the leaves above 
from dirt when it rains. 

When a tinge of yellow comes on the leaves or they as- 
sume a mottled appearance, or they break when folded over 
between the thumb and finger, the tobacco is ripe. Then 
with a hatchet cut into the stalk to the heart, 10 inches 
above the ground, then split down the middle of the stalk to 
within 3 inches of the ground, turn up all the leaves and 
chop it off close to the ground. The stalks are then hung 
on laths and are ready for drying. The best time to cut to- 
bacco is after 3 o'clock. If cut on a hot day and allowed to 
lie in the sun for fifteen minutes, it is burned. The drying 
barn must be got ready for use before the crop is ripe, and 
should be 24 feet wide by 48 feet long and 14 feet high, with 
three ventilators on top of roof, and lines of posts 4 feet 
apart, resting on rock bases and nailed to the roof rafters. 
These posts hold the cross pieces which support the laths of 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 283 

drying tobacco. Care must be taken to hang the laths so 
the tobacco on one does not touch that on any other. 

No fire is used in curing fine, thin tobacco, such as is 
used for cigars, but heavier, such as is used for pipe smoking 
and chewing, is fire-cured. 

We also give a few items on the growing and cure of 
tobacco, taken from an article by Walter W. W. Bowie, of 
Maryland, published in the report of the United States Com- 
missioner of Agriculture for the year 1867. 

He says a site having a rich loam soil on the south side 
of a gentle elevation, is the best place for a seed bed. It 
should be protected from winds by woods or shrubbery. 

The bed, after burning a brush pile on it, should be 
dug deep with a grubbing hoe, chopping and raking it until 
it is thoroughly and deeply mellow like a hotbed, and all 
clods, roots and stones removed. Then sow Peruvian guano 
at the rate of 400 pounds per acre and work it in. For 100 
square yards mix one gill of seed with half a gallon of land 
plaster or dry sifted ashes, and sow evenly, roll with a hand 
roller or tread down with the feet. Sow any time during the 
winter when the land is in order. If sown before middle 
of March, the bed should be covered with bushes free from 
leaves. (In the middle and lower Southern States this will 
not be necessary, and an earlier sowing is recommended.) 

Sow when the land is in good working order; if too 
wet, it will be work thrown away. It is recommended to 
sow at intervals, so as to be sure of getting a stand, or secur- 
ing good, strong plants. Beds must be kept free from grass 
and weeds which must be picked out by hand. 

After the plants are up they should receive a top dress- 
ing, about once in ten days, of well rotted and pulverized 



284 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

horse manure, or a mixture of equal parts stable manure^ 
ashes, plaster and vegetable mold, with soot and sulphur,, 
say 4 pounds of the latter to 4 bushels of the mixture. This 
has been found efificacious in arresting the ravages of the fly,, 
it being distasteful to the insect. If possible, the plants 
should stand in the seed beds about i inch apart, if too thick, 
rake the bed and kill out superfluous plants. 

Mr. Bowie recommends a sandy loam soil, rolling lands,. 
not liable to overflow by excessive rains. He also states that 
new land is better than old, and this is the verdict of the 
majority of tobacco raisers in the older Southern States, 
while Mr. Wierman, of Arkansas, recommends land that has 
been cropped for several years, probably the difference is in 
the character of the soils, one requiring a toning down and 
removal of some chemical attribute, while the other does 
not; so that in one locality new land, and in the other, old 
land is best. In the older Southern tobacco-growing States, 
also, such as North Carolina and Virginia, it is found bene- 
ficial to fertilize tobacco by using from 200 to 400 pounds of 
Peruvian guano per acre, applied in the hill. This is not 
necessary on the newer and richer lands of the Southwestern 
States. 

The plants should never be set deeper than they stood 
in the bed, and the roots should never be bent up, or crooked, 
but straightened out, and the earth pressed tightly about 
them with the thumb and finger. 

In three or four days the plants may be weeded out — 
that is, hoes are passed near the plants and the hard crust 
on the hills broken away ; the ground should not be allowed 
to get at all grassy or weedy. After weeding out, a tea- 
spoonful of plaster, or of plaster and ashes mixed, should be 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 285 

put on each plant. Mr, Bowie advises frequent plowings 
until the plants are too large to be cultivated without danger 
of injuring the leaves by the whififietree, then the work 
should be done by hoeing, always keeping the ground level. 

Select the best plants for seed for the next crop, lOO 
plants will furnish enough for a crop of 40,000 pounds, all 
■other plants should be topped before they blossom. 

Worms must be destroyed frequently, as often as every 
•other day is recommended, picking them off into tin cans 
with the fingers. A flock of turkeys is a great help destroy- 
ing thousands of worms. One planter is stated to have 
■destroyed the worms in the following manner, but we rather 
think it was the moths which lay the eggs that hatch out 
into tobacco worms that he destroyed. The mode as given 
-(United States Agricultural Report 1869, page 296,) is as 
ioUows : Set among the tobacco plants in the field "a few 
plants of Jamestown Weed (^Datura Stramonium) of the blos- 
soms of which the tobacco worm is very fond. These weeds 
blossom just in time for the advent of the worm. He then 
mixed an ounce of 'fly stone,' or cobalt, with water, making 
the compound very sweet with honey, and put it in a bottle, 
in the cork of which a goose quill was inserted. Every eve- 
ning just after sunset he dropped the mixture into the blos- 
soms of the Jamestown Weed, about three drops to each. 
The worms were destroyed in large numbers, and this success 
induced repetition of the process on neighboring plantations, 
with similar results. As a matter of convenience, the blos- 
soms into which the poison was dropped were pulled off on 
the morning after the application, to prevent the poison 
Irom destroying the weed itself." 



286 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

To come back to Mr. Bowie's directions ; he advises 
that in getting tobacco ready to cure, the sticks upon which 
it is to be hung, be sharpened at one end so that a spear- 
like steel point can be slipped on, then by placing the other 
end of the stick in the soft ground, taking the tobacco 
plant in both hands it is pressed down over the spear and 
strung on the stick, this being repeated until each stick is 
full, the plants hung on the sticks 4 or 5 inches apart, the 
leaves when the plants are hung in the drying barn being 
smoothed down so that they shall not touch and crumple 
each other. The sticks are hung 12 or 15 inches apart, 
each end resting on the cross joists. As the tobacco cures, 
the sticks may be pushed closer together, to make room for 
more tobacco, and to exclude damp air. 

Our own colored "man Friday," who has worked in 
tobacco raising in Virginia and North Carolina, says that 
seasoned pine wood is used for the fires in those States, and 
that they are started the night of the day the barn is filled. 

After the tobacco has been cured and is dry, whenever 
the weather is mild and damp it will become soft and 
pliant and may then be stripped. It is first taken off the 
sticks and laid in heaps, and then the leaves are stripped 
from the stalks and tied in bundles of about one-fifth or one- 
sixth of a pound each. The bundle is formed by wrapping 
a leaf around the upper part of a handful of leaves for 3 
or 4 inches, and tucking the end into the middle of the 
bundle. 

There should be, if the quality of the crop permits, four 
sorts of tobacco, namely, second, bright, yellow, and dull. 
When the tobacco is taken down from the dry house, the 
first culler takes each plant and pulls off all defective, trashy. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 287 

ground, and worm-eaten leaves next to the lower end of the 
stalk, and then throws it to the next culler, who takes off all 
the best bright leaves (and if there be any yellow leaves he 
lays them one side until he has got enough to make a bundle) 
and throws the plant to the next, who takes off all the rest, 
being the dull. 

The different strippers, as they get enough leaves in 
hand, tie up the bundles, and pile them apart, to keep the 
sorts separate for convenience in bulking. Stripping should 
not be done in dry, harsh weather. It is best not to take 
down more than can be tied up in a few hours. 

To bulk tobacco requires judgment and neatness. Logs 
should be laid parallel, with sticks or boards across to sup- 
port the "bulks," and allow free passage for air under the 
bottom. The bundles are now taken, one at a time, smoothed 
and spread out. This is most conveniently done by putting 
them against the breast and stroking the leaves downward, 
smooth and straight, with the hand. They are then passed, 
two bundles at a time, to the man bulking. He lays them 
down, two at a time, in a straight row, and presses them 
with his hand ; the broad part of the bundles slightly pro- 
jecting over the next two. Two rows of bundles are put in 
a bulk, and both carried on together, the heads being out- 
side, and the tails touching or barely lapping. The bulk, 
when carried to a suflficient height, ought to have a few 
sticks laid on the top to keep it in place. It must now be 
frequently examined, and if it gets warm, or has a musty, 
bad smell, it will require to be changed into another bulk, 
laying it down one bundle at a time without pressing, so 
that it may lie loose and open to admit free circulation of 
air. 



288 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

After it has become thoroughly dry, and has a strong 
smell, it is fit to ''condition;" that is, when the moisture or 
warmth of the weather makes it pliable, it is bulked in three 
or four, or even six-rowed bulks, and covered with boards or 
sticks and weighted down with logs, etc., when it will keep 
in nice order for packing in hogsheads at any time. 

We wish to emphasize the point that dry or drying 
tobacco should only be handled when the weather is suit- 
able, and the tobacco moist and pliable, or it will crumble 
and waste. 

SORGHUM FOR SUGAR AND SRYUP. 

One great feature in the South about the raising of 
sorghum is the fact that it can be successfully grown as a 
second crop. It need not be planted until the middle or 20th 
of May, and a crop of early Irish potatoes worth say $150 per 
acre, can be grown and marketed by that date. Then sor- 
ghum can go right in on the same ground ; it will mature in 
August and can be followed by a crop of cowpeas that will 
be ready to cut before frost. 

The government experiments with sorghum juice in Kan- 
sas and other States, prove that 1,875 pounds of sugar and 
10 gallons of syrup can be produced from an average acre of 
good sorghum. The farmer's account with his acre of land 
will stand at the end of the year thus upon the credit side : 

Irish potatoes $150 00 

1,875 pounds sugar at 4^ cents 84 00 

10 gallons molasses at 25 cents 250 

4 tons fodder at $5 20 00 

25 bushels sorghum seed saved from first cutting at 50 cents 12 50 

Loose fodder and strippings from first crop, one ton 5 00 

$274 38 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 289 

No account is here taken of the value of the cowpeas or 
of the bagasse, which can be used as fuel or a fertilizer. From 
the gross proceeds must of course be taken the cost of pro- 
duction, milling, etc., but it is easy to see that in this plant 
the South has a very paying crop when handled in the pro- 
posed manner, with potatoes as a first crop and cowpeas or 
turnips as a final crop. This arrangement is not possible at 
the North, the growing season not being long enough. 

We quote from United States Commissioner Coleman, in 
regard to the new process for making sugar from sorghum, 
as follows : 

"The experiments consist in the trial of a new process 
in making sugar in this country, which dispenses entirely with 
the costly and ponderous mills and steam engines, etc., and 
uses a far simpler and less expensive method of extracting the 
juice, by which all the saccharine matter is obtained, while 
by the former method, from 30 to 40 per cent on the aver- 
age, of the juice, even with the Southern sugar cane, is left 
in the cane after passing through the mill, and with sorghum 
a still greater quantity because of greater difficulty in extract- 
ing. * * * ^ yield of 15 tons of cane to the acre was 
being secured, which would produce, by this new process, 
1,500 to 1,800 pounds of sugar. This sugar is worth by the 
car load 5^ cents per pound at present (1890). 

"A complete sugar factory will cost about as much as a 
flouring mill, and can be run at a great profit, according to 
the present experiments." 

This opens a most promising field for both the farmer 
and the capitalist, especially as it is well known that our 
Southern sugar plants are all richer in saccharine properties 

than those grown at the North. 

P19 



290 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

But doubtless the average Southern farmer will be more 
interested in sorghum first as a fodder plant, and second as 
producing home-made sugar and syrup in a smaller and more 
economical way, furnishing thus all the "sweetnin" his family 
requires, with perhaps some to sell to his neighbors. The 
Early Amber cane, which is a supposed cross or hybrid of 
the Chinese and African sorghums, is the variety generally 
used for sugar or syrup. 

Small mills for pressing out the juice are to be had at 
any of the hardware stores, also evaporating pans, etc. 

The acidity of the juice is neutralized by the use of cream, 
of lime, or soda ; and impurities rise to the top and are re- 
moved in the scum in boiling after some albuminous matter, 
such as the white of egg, has been added. The juice is 
boiled down until by the tests usually employed in making 
maple sugar the syrup is found to be ready to granulate,, 
when it is run into pans or tanks and set away to separate 
and deposit the sugar. 

The quantity of cream of lime or soda, or both, to use to 
neutralize the acidity of the juice, is a matter of experience 
and experiment, and will vary in different seasons, and differ- 
ent crops, grown on different soils and by different modes of 
culture. The product of syrup per acre ranges from 150 to 
400 gallons. 

A home method of extracting sugar from sorghum juice 
is quoted in the report of the United States Commissioner of 
Agriculture for the year 1867, page 359, as follows: 

"Strip, cut and work up the cane the same day if possi- 
ble. I take the cane when just fairly in bloom. In no case da 
I allow the seed to mature. For sugar I boil the syrup very 
heavy and rapidly ; desiccate thoroughly and cool quickly. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 291 

I use the Cook evaporator. When the syrup is reduced suf- 
ficiently I run it through a cooler made as follows : a tin pipe 

6 feet long, 2 inches in diameter immersed in a box of cold 
water ; at the receiving end is a funnel turned up at right 
angles with the main pipe. The syrup when passed through 
the pipe, is cool enough to run into a barrel, when I leave it 
to granulate; set the barrels on end and remove the top head 
and, if possible, keep the room at about 70 to 80 degrees. 
When sufficiently granulated, mix a little water with the mush 
sugar, and drain the mush with Hunt's centrifugal sugar 
drainer," 

The gentleman giving this report received the first pre- 
mium given by the State of Iowa in 1866 for home-made 
sorghum sugar. 

It is not to be expected that by any home method of 
extraction, equivalent' results to those obtained at the United 
States Experiment Stations in Kansas, Iowa, etc., such as 
those given above by Commissioner Coleman, can be secured, 
yet there is no question but that our Southern soils and climate 
will produce sorghum richer in saccharine matter than can be 
grown at the North, 

As early as 1857 the United States Agricultural Report 
gives the number of gallons of sorghum juice required to yield 
a gallon of syrup in the Province of New Brunswick as 10 
gallons; in the rich bottom lands of Illinois and Indiana, as 

7 gallons, and in Maryland and Virginia, as 5 gallons. 

In growing sorghum for its juice, it should not be sown 
broadcast, but worked in hills or rows the same as corn; a 
mellow, sandy loam soil is best, and cowpeas or clover plowed 
under the season before, form excellent fertilizers for this 
plant. 



292 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

Never plant sorghum near broom corn, as it will hybrid- 
ize, and the juice of broom corn is not sweet. It will also 
mix with Kaffir corn, Jerusalem corn, or Dhoura (millo 
maize), all of which are non-saccharine sorghums. 

Of course in the extreme South, such as the States of 
Louisiana, some parts of Texas, Southern Mississippi, Ala- 
bama, Georgia and Florida, sugar cane {SacJiarum ofjici- 
nartim) will perhaps always displace sorghum ; but in the 
northern half of the South, some of the different varieties of 
the saccharine sorghums. Early Amber, Otaheitan, common 
Chinese, Imphee, etc., will receive merited attention, and by 
careful selection of seed may doubtless be greatly improved 
in yield of sugar products. 

SWEET CORN, VS. SORGHUM, FOR MOLASSES. 

A correspondent of the Rural New Yorker writes as 
follows : 

"Editors Rural — Yesterday I cut up the corn grow- 
ing on one square rod of ground, husked off it i bushel 
ears, took away the blades and tassels from the stalks, and 
run them twice through a wooden crusher, whence exuded 
some 4 gallons of clean, sweet juice, from which I suc- 
ceeded in making half a gallon of beautifully clear molasses 
of excellent quality — a sample of which I send you. 

"This is my fourth experiment, in each of which there 
was a like result as to quantity; as to quality , the last is the 
best. The process of manufacturing is simple but most arbi- 
trary, and when strictly followed, success is certain every 
time. And to make it profitable, cultivate one acre of the 
Stowell sweet corn, and the following results, or even greater, 
may be realized : 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 293 

"First, One hundred and sixty bushels of ears, worth 
in any city market $80. 

"Second. An amount of excellent fodder for stock, 
equal to 2 tons of good hay, worth $20. 

"Third. The stalks would then yield some 640 gallons 
of juice, or 80 gallons of molasses, worth at least $40 — mak- 
ing in all $140 ; while the cost of manufacturing the molasses 
is very light. 

"In view of the above calculations, which, by the by, 
have been fully realized on a small scale in my several experi- 
ments, I am almost persuaded that for this latitude corn is 
more valuable for the manufacture of molasses than sorghum. 

"A cheap wooden mill made precisely like any old- 
fashioned cider mill, only having the grinders smooth and 
not fluted, is all that is necessary for pressing out the juice." 

We think the calculations made by this correspondent 
are rather large, but even though the figures are cut in two, 
$70 per acre is a good return. 

OSAGE ORANGE HEDGES. 

A most lasting and satisfactory fence can be made of 
the Osage orange in the South, where this plant is native. 
In Northern States, such as Illinois and Iowa, where at times 
the climate in winter is severe, and it is liable to freeze down, 
hundreds of thousands of dollars have been expended for 
hedges of this plant. It is stated in the United States Agri- 
cultural Report of 1868, that the estimated crop of the North- 
west was then 300,000,000 plants, sufificient for 60,000 miles 
of fence. 

In the South, where no climatic drawbacks to its suc- 
cessful cultivation exist, it will be found profitable to use it, 



294 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and, doubtless, as timber becomes scarcer, this will be done, 
especially on our Southern prairie lands, where such hedges 
operate also as wind-breaks. 

The plants may now be bought of one year's growth at 
from $1.50 to $2.50 per 1,000, but the farmer can readily 
grow them himself, if he can obtain the seed balls from the 
trees. 

These should be soaked in tubs or barrels of water until 
the pulp decays and the seed can be washed out. To effect 
this, warm water is usually turned on, changing it frequently, 
and the process is hastened by keeping them in a warm 
room. It takes several weeks to rot out the seeds. Another 
plan is to expose them to freezing weather in open boxes, 
with layers of moist earth between them, for a few weeks in 
the winter. 

Let the boxes be placed in the sunshine, where the seeds 
will be alternately frozen and thawed. In the early spring 
they should be planted in drills 18 inches apart, 6 inches 
apart in the rows, in a rich bed, and the young plants care- 
fully cultivated and weeded the first season, and set in the 
hedge-row as soon as the leaves drop the following fall. 

It is recommended to plow deeply, along the line of the 
proposed hedge, eight to ten furrows, turning four or five 
furrows together, then, after harrowing thoroughly, repeat 
the plowing in the same manner, so that a ridge may be 
formed, on the top of which the hedge shall stand. This 
plowing should be done the spring previous to the setting 
of the plants, if the ground is prairie sod or grass land, 
but if otherwise this can be done just before setting the 
hedge in the spring. If this ground is not rich it should be 
made so by the application of manure. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 295 

A Straight line should then be staked off in the center 
of the plowed land, and a light double furrow turned out 
along the line of the stakes, and the plants set by stretching 
a cord and carefully and rapidly filling the dirt in about each 
plant, setting them i foot apart, and no deeper than the 
surface of the top of the ridge you had formed, tramping the 
earth down well upon the roots of each plant. If the young 
roots are not then covered sufficiently deep, finish by plowing 
a few light furrows on each side, throwing the dirt towards 
the hedge. 

The plants should first be clipped back to within 4 
inches of the collar of the roots, and the tap root to 6 or 8 
inches. This is best done with a pair of hedge clippers or 
sheep shears. 

The soil of the plowed strip should be kept worked 
thoroughly the next summer, so that weeds and grass may 
be kept from smothering the young plants, arid they may be 
kept growing thriftily. 

EARLY AND REGULAR TRIMMING IMPORTANT. 

In the spring, when the plants have been sending out 
leaves and branches for three months, the first pruning should 
be done, cutting back the main shoots to 6 inches from the 
bud and the side shoots about one-third their growth. A 
second light trimming should be given in about three or four 
months more, leaving the hedge in wedge form at the close 
of the first year's growth, say 15 inches high and about 8 
inches at the base. 

The wedge or cone shape should be maintained in after 
years, letting only a foot be added to the height and 6 inches 
to the base each season, this being accomplished by I'egular 



296 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

and severe pruning ist of June and ist of December, the lat- 
ter always when there is no frost in the air. 

When the fence is sufficiently high to turn stock, say 4 
or 4^ feet, it should not be allowed to grow any taller or 
wider, but so trimmed from year to year as to maintain its reg- 
ular compact wedge shape. The system of regular trimming 
we have described must be maintained from the first year of 
the life of the hedge right along, or it will grow tall, open, 
straggling and not bottomed well. Regular and systematic 
pruning must be done in the earlier years. This is the key 
to success, if a fence that is absolutely stock and almost rab- 
bit proof is required. An Osage orange fence has been found 
to be cheaper than one built of posts and boards, but is not 
cheaper of course than a rail fence. There is one point, 
however, and that is that a well-grown and trimmed fence is 
good for at least thirty and perhaps fifty years. In case any 
of the young plants do not grow in the rows, others should 
at once be inserted or a branch bent down and layered, by 
fastening it with hooks or pegs driven in the ground. The 
best plan is undoubtedly to put new plants in the vacancies. 

FLAX GROWING. 

The following article gives some items in regard to the 
growing of flax in Ireland, and may be useful to those wish- 
ing to experiment with the plant in the South, 

"The soils that are generally considered most proper 
for the cultivation of flax, are alluvial formations, and deep, 
easily pulverized loams — those which contain a large portion 
of vegetable matter in their composition are considered the 
best. It will not, however, answer to be made too rich with 
manure, as in that case the fiber is course. Land of a mid- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 297 

dling description will answer, but the feature of greatest im- 
portance consists in after treatment. Tiie usual practice is 
to sow flax after potatoes or a root crop of some kind, but it 
is considered best if it were sod land the previous year, I 
have, however, seen good flax grown after grain crops. 
When flax is sown after root crops, they do not plow the 
land; it is well harrowed and picked clean of weeds, as the 
success of the crop greatly depends on the cleanliness of the 
ground. After sowing, a very light harrow is used, cover- 
ing the seed as evenly as possible, and after harrowing, the 
weeds that are on the ground are carefully picked off; it is 
then finished by passing a light roller evenly over it. 

" In choice of seed there are a variety of opinions, some 
preferring the Dutch and others the American. The Dutch 
is generally chosen for stiff loams. The quantity of seed is 
from 2^ to 3^ bushels per acre, varying according to the 
land and the judgment of the sower. Their acre is equal to 
one and a half and 19 rods of this country measure. The time 
of sowing is from the 15th of April to the first week in May, 
varying according to the soil and situation. The weeding is 
a very important operation, and should be performed with 
care and attention — not leaving a weed to be seen. As a 
quantity of weeds are invariably found to spring up with the 
crop, notwithstanding the most assiduous care, they ought 
to be carefully rejected in the process of pulling. 

" It takes a practiced hand to tell the proper time of 
pulling, as a few days sometimes materially injures the crop, 
both in quantity and quality. What is considered the best 
time is when about two-thirds of the stalk is observed to 
turn yellow and to lose the leaves, and the seed in the 
uppermost bolls are well formed. By pulling flax green a 



298 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

finer article is obtained, but a less quantity. Some growers 
save the seed, but it invariably injures the flax. When the 
crop is ready it is pulled and kept straight, and bound up with 
bands of rushes in bundles about 2 feet in circumference, 
and if green it is set up in stooks of twelve bundles for a few 
days. 

"The important process for either making or marring 
the produce of the flax crop, is that of watering ; and in 
this operation a great number of particulars require to be 
attended to, any inattention to, or improper performance of 
which, may considerably damage the whole crop. First, 
the water ought to be soft and clear, and if possible, stand- 
ing. Second, the bundles ought to be put in the water, 
roots down, and when as much is in as the pit will hold, it 
must be kept under the water with either stones or sods until 
it is properly fermented. It has a great many processes to 
go through before it is ready for the spinner, such as spread- 
ing, drying, lifting, breaking, scutching, etc., etc." 

BASKET WILLOWS AND THEIR CULTURE. 

The following article is mainly taken from the columns 
of a leading agricultural journal: 

PEELING. 

"Willows may be cut as soon as the leaves fall in the 
autumn, or at any time during the winter. As soon as cut 
they should be bound up in small bundles, with the lower 
ends even, when they may be stood up on end, and allowed 
to remain until spring. As soon as the weather becomes 
warm in the spring, the bundles must be stood in water an 
inch or so, and allowed to remain in this position until the 
buds start, when they will peel easily. This will be the latter 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 299 

part of May or early in June, depending somewhat on the sit- 
uation and season. Peeling has always been done by hand, 
and it is a slow operation, as an expert hand cannot peel lOO 
pounds per day. A machine for peeling has lately been in- 
vented which is advertised to peel from i to 2 tons a day. 
Two tons per acre is considered a fair crop. After peeling 
they are thrown in water, then dried, so that they will not 
mildew, when they are tied in bundles, and are ready for 
market." 

THE MARKET. 

"The culture and sale of the willow is a new business in 
this country. Willow manufacturers have always obtained 
. their supply from Europe, and it will take some time to change 
this course of trade. It will not be strange, therefore, if in 
some sections of the country, farmers with a small stock on 
hand find it difificult to dispose of them, even when a similar, 
or perhaps an inferior article, is selling at an extravagantly 
high price in the New York market. Indeed, it would not 
be very strange if manufacturers should import foreign wil- 
lows, at a great cost, to the very town where some enterpris- 
ing farmer has a better article that he knows not how to dis- 
pose of. We have heard of such operations ; but these things 
will soon regulate themselves. 

"In Europe the willow is universally used for baskets, 
and in almost every locality where there are German settlers 
good basket-makers can be found. Farmers who have a small 
quantity of willows on hand, would do well to make inquiry 
among their German neighbors, and engage them to work 
their stock into baskets for use and sale. When in New York 
a few years since, we undertook to look into the willow trade 
a little, and were astonished to see such immense stores, and 



300 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

a brisk trade. The dealers we saw were all foreigners, and 
exhibited a strange ignorance of the English language, for 
men doing a large business in New York. We thought at the 
time that they were not anxious to give us much information. 
Willows are now worth more than $ioo per ton ; and a gen- 
tleman who has raised an acre for several years informed us 
last fall that the cost of cutting and peeling a ton by hand^ 
was about $30." 

THE WILLOW FOR HEDGES. 

"The willow is well worthy of attention as a plant for 
live hedges. Though destitute of thorns, such is its strength 
and rapidity of growth, that it will make a strong hedge in a 
comparatively short time. 

"The ground should be well prepared, and it would be 
well to plow a strip not less than 6 feet wide, drag, and ma- 
nure if the soil is poor. Then set the willow cuttings either 
in a single or double row; if in a single row, 6 or 8 inches 
apart; if in a double row, 15 inches apart each way, and 
so as to "break joints." The cuttings from this hedge will 
be worth something, certainly enough to pay for the use of 
the land it occupies, and for keeping it in order. In Eng- 
land, says t\\Q English Flora, the willow is "extensively used 
for fences for the exclusion of hares and rabbits, as well as 
cattle, the bark and leaves being so intensely bitter that they 
will touch neither, while the shoots being long, tough and 
flexible, may be formed into any shape ; and a fence of this 
kind is reckoned little, if at all, inferior to that made of wire, 
which, when made close enough to exclude small animals, 
and strong enough to form a barrier against large ones, is 
very expensive. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 301 

"The ease with which the willow is propagated, and its 
rapid growth, makes it particularly valuable for shelter from 
the sweeping winds. Charles Downing says : 'A screen of 
tweiity-five feet in height may be grown from willow cuttings 
in five years, and at a slightly retarded rate of annual increase 
until a height of 60 feet is gained ; thus almost immediately 
affording that shelter which is so indispensable that there is 
no safety without it.' The purple willow is the best variety 
we are acquainted with, both for hedges and shelter. 

VARIETIES SUITED TO OUR CLIMATE. 

"The culture of the willow was urged many years ago, 
by the elder Mr, Prince, but the subject received but little 
attention, and the varieties which were recommended as the 
best English sorts, did not suit our climate. Our dry, hot 
summers checked or entirely stopped their growth, so that 
during July and August, they would remain apparently dor- 
mant, some varieties starting again with the fall rains, but 
not making sufficient growth to be of any value. Dr. Grant 
and Charles Downing, of Newburgh, N, Y., have for several 
years been importing all the English varieties and conducting 
a system of reliable experiments, of immense value to the 
country, and the result is, they have found four varieties to 
succeed admirably here, and though others have proved val- 
uable, these four have proved superior to all others. We 
give Mr. Downing's description of these sorts. 

"First. Forbes' Willow. — Salix Forbyana. — Hardy 
and productive, its rods having almost a leathery toughness; 
but it does not whiten well, and in consequence its usefulness 
is greatly abridged. For work where unpeeled rods are used, 
it is most excellent. 



302 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

"Second. Long-leaved Triandrous Willow. — 6". 
Triandra. — This whitens beautifully, is very tough and plia- 
ble, and grows vigorously with less drainage than any other 
of good quality. If the soil is very deep, it will grow with 
equal vigor where the ground is very dry; and in addition it 
has the excellent habit of early ripening the extremities of its 
shoots, on which account it is quite hardy in high Northern 
latitudes. 

"With our German basket makers it is a general favorite, 
especially for split work. As an ornamental tree it is also 
deserving of attention. 

' 'Third. PURPLE WiLLOW. — S. Purpurea. — This is the 
representative of a large class, and appears to be far more 
valuable for osiers in America than in England, where it is 
represented as giving shoots of from 3 to 5 feet in length. I 
have standing by me a bundle of its shoots, from cuttings 
planted last spring, that average more than 6 feet ; and an- 
other bundle, from established plants, of nearly 10 feet. 
They were grown with good but not extraordinary culture^ 
and any good field may easily do as well. It is much more 
fastidious in its habits than either of the preceding — delights 
in richness, depth and moisture, but does not tolerate excess 
of wetness. When well established it has but one superior 
in productiveness, and may easily be made to yield 4 tons 
per acre of the most excellent rods, particularly for fine 
whole work, for which it has no superior. For live fences it 
is very valuable, and in England is 'extensively used for 
fences for the exclusion of hares and rabbits, as well as cattle, 
the bark and leaves being so intensely bitter that they will 
touch neither, while the shoots, being long, tough and 
flexible, may be formed into any shape; and a fence of this 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 303 

kind is reckoned little, if at all, inferior to that made of 
wire.' 

"Fourth. Beveridge Willow. — 5. Beveridgei. — This 
variety is perfectly adapted to the climate of the United 
States, and is much more vigorous and productive than any 
other variety known. Cuttings of the size of a pipestem, 6 
inches long, planted last April, made during the season shoots 
II feet long. Its rods are very slender, comparatively, and 
vary less in size 'from butt to tip' than any other with which 
I am acquainted. 'In early spring, before other flowers 
appear, excepting the Magnolia conspiciia and Cydonia 
Japonica, this tree is a mass of dazzling bloom, its immense 
catkins exhibiting all the brightest hues of the rainbow.' 
The remarkable vigor of this willow, together with its hardi- 
ness and beauty, constitute it the best material for live fences 
that has yet been discovered, where the soil is suited to its 
growth; for example, on the deep, rich soil of the Western 
prairies, and on the bottoms, where fences are liable to be 
swept off by freshets. It will thrive in any soil that is deep 
and rich, and for a garden enclosure I cannot conceive any- 
thing more attractively beautiful than a hedge of this willow. 
After the gloom of winter has passed, it affords the first 
cheerfully inviting scene of spring — its gorgeous flowers, 
covered with bees, filling the air with the joyous murmuring 
of the music; and its dense, rich foliage, is the last to yield 
to the influence of early winter. The cultivation of this 
willow for hoops may perhaps be worth attention. It will 
yield once in two years about 40,000 poles to the acre. One 
whose judgment is worthy of all confidence, writing from 
England, says, 'As an osier it is better than all other 



304 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

varieties,' and the experience of the past two years proves 
it of equal excellence here." 

SOIL AND CULTIVATION. 
The willow delights in a moist, mucky soil, but exper- 
ience has proved that it cannot be grown successfully in 
stagnant water. It requires depth of soil, richness and 
moisture — a well drained swamp, therefore, is just the thing, 
and even if overflowed in the winter and spring, and occa- 
sionally in summer during heavy storms it may be used 
advantageously. Heavy, retentive upland soils when deeply 
worked are suitable for the willow, wherever there is a good 
and well distributed rainfall, as is generally the case in the 
Southern States. We have here many localities which are 
eminently well adapted to willow culture, such as the rich 
alluvial lands along many of our Southern water courses. 

Some varieties will bear more water than others, as the 
Long Leaved-Triandrous Willow will flourish on a soil so 
soft that plowing is impracticable, and requiring no other 
care than keeping down the weeds, but on the same soil the 
Purple Willow would scarcely grow. 

The ground for the willow should be well plowed and 
dragged, and if the soil is not naturally rich a good dressing 
of manure should be plowed under. There appears to be 
a good deal of difference of opinion as to the distance at 
which to plant cuttings. We rather think, however, that 
about 3 feet each way will be found right. The cuttings 
should be from 7 to 12 inches in length, according to the 
stiffness of the soil. If the soil is heavy, 7 inches in length 
will be short enough. After planting, the ground must be 
cultivated, until the willow gets such a start as to shade the 
ground, and prevent the growth of weeds. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 305 

The customary mode of planting in England is to leave 
one or two buds of each cutting above the surface of the 
ground and when the shoots grow out from these buds and 
the larger growth is generally from the upper buds they are 
not found to be as strong and vigorous as when the entire 
cutting with all its buds is covered. Roots are then formed 
at each bud, even to the top one, and much stronger canes 
are produced than where the buds have to draw all their 
nourishment through the stem. At the end of each year's 
growth the canes are cut back to the surface of the ground 
and the stool or stock spreads evenly on all sides, often to 
as much as 3 feet in diameter in good soil and with good 
culture, and the canes having more space than by the English 
method and more nourishment from their own roots, are 
more numerous, longer, and much more uniform in size. 
This system of cutting close to the ground must be adhered 
to at all subsequent cuttings, and it will be plainly seen that 
in this mode of culture the stools must be planted at a con- 
siderable distance apart, on no account should they be closer 
than from 3 to 3 5^ feet apart, and on good rich ground the 
larger sorts should not be put nearer than 4 feet. 

RAMIE. 

This plant is of the nettle family, its native home being 
in the valleys of northern India, among the foothills of the 
Himalaya Mountains, and from there its culture has spread 
into China, Java, Assam, Malacca, and Australia; it has 
also been found to grow well in Jamaica, in the West Indies. 

Its botanical name is Boehmcria nivea. It is known 

commercially in India and England as China Grass. The 

plant also known as the Neiighera Nettle, which also 
p 20 



306 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

grows in northern India, yields a similar fiber, and is some- 
times put up with the China Grass, but being a stinging 
nettle it is not as easily handled as the latter, and its fiber is 
not as strong, as brilliant, or really as valuable. 

The fiber yielded by the ramie plant is a strong, white 
silky substance, of long staple, great beauty and high lustre. 
Under favoring circumstances it is a rank grower, and it is 
claimed the staple can be produced at a cost less than flax 
or hemp, and can be used in textile fabrics, such as Irish 
linens, laces, etc., with advantage both as to strength and 
beauty. It is also said to be used as a substitute for silk 
and as an adulterant for cheapening that material. The 
coarser parts and qualities of it are claimed to be much 
stronger than hemp and useful for all the purposes for which 
that fiber is used. 

It was introduced for cultivation, or rather for experi- 
mental cultivation, into several of the Southern States several 
years ago, and was found to grow vigorously in Louisiana, 
in Fayette County, Tenn., and near Goliad and Austin, 
Tex. It was found to grow well, both from seeds and 
roots. It multiplies very rapidly from root planting, enough 
plants for 150 acres having in one year been produced in 
Louisiana from one hundred roots. In growing it from 
the seed, which are of very small size, it is found nec- 
essary to give them only a very slight covering of fine soil, 
to protect them from the rays of the sun, and to keep the 
ground moist by daily waterings. In China, matting or 
sacking is suspended over the beds until the plants are 2 
inches high, and this covering is watered every day and 
removed at night. When 3 inches high they are trans- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 307 

planted into rows, care being taken to supply the plants 
with water until they are well set. 

In favoring localities, and on good soil, it grows from 
8 to 10 feet high and yields two or three crops of stalks 
per year, and after the first year requires but little cultiva- 
tion or attention. If grown from roots, cut in pieces and 
planted i8 inches apart, they are ready for cutting the sec- 
ond year. 

There does not seem to be anything in the way of the 
production of the crop ; the only drawback is in the finding 
of the best method of preparing the fiber for market in an 
economical manner. The manufacturers are now using this 
material as prepared by hand labor in China and India. 
What is needed is such chemical or mechanical appliances 
as will do for ramie what the cotton gin has done for cotton. 

We presume that seed or cuttings can be obtained by 
any one desiring to experiment with this plant, by application 
to the Commissioner of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C. 

TEA AND SILK CULTURE. 

If there is any part of the United States where the pro- 
duction of these articles can be made a success, it is undoubt- 
edly at the South ; but perhaps it is not too much to say 
that unless new methods and machinery are invented and 
brought to bear, it will be a misfortune and not a blessing 
that tea can be produced here in competition with China, 
Japan and India, or silk in competition with these countries 
and Italy. 

In China and other oriental countries, we are told a man 
can be hired for one dollar a month, furnishing his own 
board. It will be a misfortune to the South when our labor- 



308 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

ers can employ their time no more profitably. Although 
the soil and climate of the South are well adapted to the cul- 
ture of these two products, we do not expect that either of 
these articles will be produced here. Our workmen and 
women can employ their time to better advantage. It is un- 
doubtedly a fact that no American can to-day afford to pick, 
and with great care and minute watchfulness, roll and cure a 
pound of any kind of small green leaves for from lO to 20 
cents a pound, the price realized for tea by the Chinese tea 
growers. 

Silk is another article that, while in its finished commer- 
cial shape in the United States it bears a good price, its 
value m the cocoon, even after all the trouble and endless 
work of raising, housing and feeding the silkworms has been 
gone through with, and they have been brought finally to 
death in their winding sheet, the cocoon, the price in this 
unwound, unspun and uncolored condition is not a remunera- 
tive one to Americans. No, we can make more money with 
less work than by raising tea or silk. 

Our advice is not to waste your time at present on at- 
tempts to raise these articles. Is it not better to try and do 
well with the many crops we can raise here to good advant- 
age, than to experiment with foreign productions involving 
an immense amount of work for little pay? 

TIME TO PLOW AT THE SOUTH. 

Unless your land has a sandy subsoil, and so is liable 
to gully and wash, do all your breaking in the winter months, 
getting it all done by February i to 15. At this season 
the land is usually in the best possible condition, and you can 
plow deep if you want to. Deep plowing will insure your 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 309 

crops against possible damage from drought in the summer, 
as the deeply pulverized soil furnishes a reservoir of moisture 
for plants to draw sustenance from. 

Another point is gained in having the heavy work of 
plowing done when the weather is cool, and when yourself 
and team can work to best advantage; besides this, winter 
plowing enables you to plant early, which if the season proves 
to be a dry one, often insures a crop, when later plantings 
fail. It also enables the farmer to do his work with less stock, 
and to have plenty of time to do it well. 

Deep winter plowing, followed by early planting and con- 
tinued shallow cultivation in the summer should be the aim 
of every Southern farmer and are the sure roads to success. 

A word or two more about deep plowing. It is likely 
some one will say, "my land will not bear deep plowing, the 
soil is thin and the subsoil is poor, tough clay, and if I plow 
deep and turn the little good soil I have down under the poor 
clay, I shall get no crop at all." My friend, your soil needs 
enriching, and the first step towards this is deep plowing, the 
second is to sow cowpeas or clover, and turn them under; 
and if you practice economy in the saving of manure, as re- 
commended on page 312, and a good, liberal top-dressing of 
this is given before the peas or clover are sown, your land will 
soon be twice or three times as productive as it is now, it will 
also work easier, be mellower, and stand droughts better. 
We hope none of our farmers will be satisfied to plow their 
lands only 3 inches deep, and let the soil get poorer and 
poorer, and harder and more unproductive each year. Land 
can be, and ought to be made better each year, and the good 
farmer will see that it is. 



310 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

HOTBEDS. 

To prepare a hotbed, mark off the ground in a location 
sheltered from the north and west winds, and where the 
drainage is good, the size you intend to make your bed and 
6 inches larger all around. The ordinary size of commercial 
hotbed sash is 3 by 6 feet. If, therefore, you wish to use 
three sash mark off 10 feet east and west by 7 feet north and 
south, so that your bed shall front and slope to the south; 
if you intend that your bed shall be long enough to take six 
sash, make your bed 19 feet east and west and 7 feet north 
and south, and in the same proportion for whatever number 
of sash you desire to use. Several small beds, say of two or 
three sash each are better for the beginner than one large 
one, as some plants want more heat than others. It is not 
best to put say cabbage plants and egg plants in the same 
bed, they need different heat and handling. 

The material of which to build up the bed, is fresh horse 
manure, mixed with long litter and leaves. Mix these well 
together with a fork, sprinkling with warm water until all 
are wet, then fork into a compact, conical pile, and let be for 
from three days to a week, according to the temperature of 
the atmosphere. When it smokes, showing it is well heated, 
fork it over, wetting again any dry portions, and as soon as 
it heats again, spread it while hot on the ground selected for 
the bed, tramping or beating it down until it is from 2 to 3 
feet above the surface of the ground. On the top of the 
manure, put fine, light, rich soil 4 to 6 inches deep (such as 
that made from the decay of grass or clover sods and cow 
manure piled up for a year). Have your frame prepared, 
built of I to I >^ inch planks, place it upon the bed with 
narrow cross boards under its lower edges to prevent its 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 311 

settling down into the bed too much, and put on your sashes 
at once, to retain all possible heat. The frame should have 
corner pieces of scantling to which the side planks are nailed, 
and the north part should be, say 6 inches, higher than the 
front or south side. The east and west planks should pro- 
ject I inch above the north and south ones and should have 
1 inch square cleats nailed i inch below their inside upper 
edges, upon which the outside edges of the sash can rest. 
Each sash should also have a strip 2 inches wide nailed along 
one of its sides, so that it may overlap its neighboring sash 
to prevent cold air from entering between them and also to 
enable the sash to be readily slid down or up, resting upon 
the adjoining sash. 

When the top soil is warmed through by the heat gen- 
erated by the manure beneath it, sow the seed in drills 4 to 
6 inches apart, so that they can be worked and weeds kept 
down. When the plants are 3 inches high they should be 
transplanted into rows 6 inches apart and 3 inches in the 
rows, and when they seem crowded transplant again. 

Hotbeds of more extensive character are also made, to 
be heated by fire, sometimes as much as 7 5 feet long, having 
underground flues, with fire-box at one end and chimney at 
the other; but we think that ordinarily at the South such 
beds as we have described will be found sufficient. It will 
be well, however, to prepare covers made from sacking, 
filled in with hay, a kind of light mattress to lay over the 
glass frames in very cold weather. It is also well to have 
an outside case 6 inches larger than that covered by the 
sash filled in with sawdust or other nonconducting material 
to keep occasional severe frosts out. 



312 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

COLD FRAMES. 

These are made similar to hotbeds, but heating manure 
is not used, the same protection otherwise being given. 
They will be found very useful for starting cabbage plants, 
cauliflower, lettuce, etc. In place of glass sash, slat frames 
with cotton cloth tacked over them may be used about as 
well. 

The putting up and handling of a greenhouse needs to 
be done by an expert nurseryman, one who has been trained 
in the business. We shall not, therefore, in this book, writ- 
ten for farmers and truckmen, give directions for building 
one. 

MANURES. 

One of the most important points demanding the atten- 
tion of the Southern farmer, is that of manures. In many of 
the Southern States where the lands have been cropped for 
scores if not for hundreds of years, and as the saying is, are 
"worn out," hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent an- 
nually for purchasing commercial fertilizers, while the 
more natural and comparatively inexpensive sources of fertili- 
zation are overlooked, and wasted. The question of inex- 
pensive fertilizers is an important one both to the native 
Southern farmer, and the Northern immigrant who comes 
here from States having naturally rich, fertile soils, such as 
the Northwestern prairies. 

Necessity obliges the farmers of such countries as Mich- 
igan, northern Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey 
and the New England States, to keep their live stock up 
through the long winter time, when the snow is on the 
ground, and there is nothing in the fields for the cattle to eat; 
The cold for months is intense, snow lies on the ground for 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 313 

long periods of time, so all stock have to be well housed, or 
kept in small, snug sheds and barnyards, and fed from day 
to day, and so for six or seven months the droppings fall and 
are forked into huge piles matted together with the plentiful 
hay litter the animals are bedded with. 

First Result — 500 to 1,000 loads of excellent manure 
that must be hauled out of the way and put on the fields the 
next season. 

Second Result — Lands growing richer and more produc- 
tive each year, where the farm is handled by a good farmer 
who keeps sufificient stock to eat the hay, clover, corn fodder, 
millet, oats, turnips, carrots, ensilage, etc., which the farmer 
during his short summer has stored up. 

Third Result — Lands worth from $7S to $125 per acre, 
that 50 to 100 years ago were bought at from $2 to $5 per 
acre. 

How shall like results be secured at the South? Mani- 
festly by profiting by the experience of the Northern farmer. 
What the climate there compels him to do, let us do here at 
the South, because it is our interest to do it. "What! keep 
our stock up in small pens and sheds?" you ask. Certainly, 
at night, and all the time during January and February; 
only be sure you have provided abundant supplies of food ; 
and also be ready with fork and spade to put the droppings 
in piles daily, out of the way of the trampling, washing, 
leaching, wasting to which it is subjected in the large barn- 
yards and horse-lots of Southern farmers. 

Another thing ; if you raise wheat, oats, rye, etc., do 
not burn up or otherwise waste the straw, save it all, and bed 
your stock with it. This will furnish a mat to hold the 



314 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

manure together, making it more easily handled, and soaking 
up the valuable nitrogenous urine. 

We have said above in this article that abundant sup- 
plies of food must be provided. Now this cannot be done 
by planting 500 acres of cotton and lOO acres of corn, neither 
can it be best done by reversing this and planting 500 acres 
of corn and 100 acres of cotton. No, the thing to do is to 
provide ample meadows and cut plenty of hay. Let your 
big strong three-story barn, for you should by all means have 
such a structure, be filled each year with clover, timothy or 
red-top hay — corn and sorghum grown and cut as fodder, to- 
gether with millet or Johnson grass, and besides these sup- 
plies, have out of doors ample stacks of cowpea and crab grass 
hay, and also see to it that your corn cribs are full of corn ; 
and then to parody Longfellow : 

Your barns shall be full to the rafters, 

Your cattle grow fatter each day, 
Your land and your purse shall grow richer, 

And mortgages vanish away. 

There is another plan by which poor land can be made 
rich, and worn out soils returned to fertility, and that is by 
the use of green crops, such as clover and cowpeas plowed 
under. The latter at the South are to be preferred, being 
rich in nitrogen and potash, and heavy in yield of tonnage 
per acre ; and as two crops of peas can be raised per year, 
while it takes two years to raise one crop of clover, it is easy 
to see that they are four times as efficacious. Perhaps a 
union of both plans is best, the use of both animal and vege- 
table manures, especially on lands to be sown the next year 
in wheat or grass, or planted to corn. Cotton seed is also an 
excellent manurial product, and it can be used either rotted 
or ground, in connection with cowpea vines turned under, to 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 315 

good advantage, or fed to stock and the manure used. Com- 
mercial fertilizers, such as kainit, acid phosphates, etc., are 
not necessary. 

The following statements from Professor R. L. Bennett 
in Bulletin No. 23, March, 1893, page 89, are in point: 

"Commercial fertilizers are not necessary for our crops, 
because the lands can be maintained or increased in fertility, 
and increased crops produced without them, and the money 
expended can thus be saved on the farm. On most of the 
worn-out land of the State, the ordinary commercial fertilizers 
do little good to the crop the first year, and none at all the 
second. Such was the case in an experiment the past two 
years with acid phosphate, floats and kainit * * * « 
the latter, however, made a good increase the first year, ap- 
plied at the rate of 500 pounds per acre, but there was no 
effect from it on the second year's crop. * * » * j^ 
view of the superior fertilizing material that can be cheaply 
produced on the farm, commercial fertilizers should be used 
only to a limited extent and the mixtures^ which are the most 
common forms in which fertilisers are sold, should not be used 
under any consideration ^ [The italics are the professor's.] 

USE OF MARLS AS FERTILIZERS. 
In very many parts of the South, very valuable marl 
deposits are found ; similar, and in fact identical with those 
which in New Jersey have been found to exert such wonder- 
iul recuperative effects upon the very poor sandy and loam 
soils of that State, lands which a few years ago were consid- 
ered almost valueless, but now, when marls have been ap- 
plied, producing fine clover, corn, wheat and peaches, and 
sell at from $100 to $1,000 per acre. We draw these points 



316 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER* S 

from the published remarks of Professor Cook, State geolo- 
gist of New Jersey, and they are authentic. What has been 
done in that State and in France and England, can be done 
in the South wherever marl can be easily mined or dug, and 
has the advantage of good and cheap shipping facilities. 

These valuable earths are of five general types, and 
may be classified as follows: 

First. PJiosphatic marls. — Those rich in phosphates,, 
such as those of South Carolina and Florida. 

Second. Greensand marls, like those of New Jersey. 

Third. Lime marls. — Example, the English, calcium- 
carbonate marls. 

Fourth. Chalk marls, such as the chalks of England 
or the Rocky Comfort chalks of southwestern Arkansas. 

Five. Gypsum marls. — The fertilizing element of this 
marl being sulphate of lime or "land-plaster." 

We have not space to give directions for the use of 
these marls, nor such descriptions as would enable the reader 
to recognize them if they should exist in his neighborhood. 
We would recommend that if you find any clays or earths 
you suspect are marls, or that contain valuable fertilizing 
properties, that you try them in small quantities, say a 
few bushels, just as was done at first in the State of New 
Jersey, where one farmer says he applied marl in the 
year 1824 without any other fertilizers, with the following 
results : 

"I applied five or six loads of 20 bushels each on an 
acre for buckwheat or rye. The effect of it was so great 
that the use of it became general, and the farms increased 
rapidly in value from $10 to $100 or more per acre. As 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 317 

the land increased in value, the amount of marl was increased 
to twenty loads an acre." 

Another farmer says : 

"We have improved land with marl that was so poor 
you could not raise anything on it; now we can mow it and 
•cut 2 tons of hay per acre, all by the use of marl. It will 
prevent sandy soil from burning up the crops and clay soil 
from baking, and insure crops on all kinds of lands. My 
father bought the farm I now live on about sixty-five years 
ago. At that time marl was not much in use. He carted a 
few loads to try it, and said he could see it in the grass crops 
for years after, where he had put it on, which made him 
think it was of great value, ***** f j^g i^j^^j jjj 
my neighborhood is a sandy loam. By the use of marl it 
has become one of the best agricultural districts." 

The profitable use of marls as fertilizers will of course 
always depend first, upon the character of the marl; second, 
whether its chemical constituents are adapted to supply the 
lack in a given soil; third, whether it can be obtained eco- 
nomically; and fourth, whether the cost is paid for by in- 
crease of crops. 

The other modes of fertilizing named above, applications 
of barn-yard manure and plowing under of green crops, are 
of sure and certain benefit to almost all soils, and every farmer, 
unless it be one owning the very richest of bottom lands, 
should by all means use them. 



318 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

VALUE OF LIME ON GRAIN LANDS. 

From a correspondent in the Rural New Yorker: 
"I commenced liming about thirty years ago by experi- 
menting with 20 bushels on half an acre. That half acre 
looked so much better the next spring that I contracted for 
90Q bushels for the succeeding fall, and put it on at the rate 
of 40 bushels per acre. That gave me a great crop on land 
that was said to have been cropped thirty years without any 
manure; I then got lime for 9 cents per bushel, taking a 
whole kiln at once. I kept liming until I had all the old 
land limed and it paid well — the first crop always paying 
well for the cost, besides making much more straw to increase 
the manure. The last I limed was fourteen years ago, I then 
made an experiment with 100 bushels to the acre on 2 acres, 
and 55 bushels to the acre on the remainder of the field (16 
acres). The 2 acres with the 100 bushels to the acre 
yielded an immense crop ; had it not been on the hardest 
and poorest part of the field I presume it would have all 
lodged. Although lime stiffens the straw much, the wheat 
is clearer, plumper and of finer quality. A good liming will 
last for twenty to twenty-five years, and then the land may 
require 20 to 25 bushels to the acre. I said that if I was a 
young man I would lime all my unlimed land at the rate oi 
80 bushels per acre." 

Not only is lime valuable on grain lands but it will be 
found to be excellent when applied to truck or grass lands. 
Its mellowing effect on stiff clays is surprising to those who 
have not tried it before. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 319 

WINDMILLS AND IRRIGATION. 

While the rainfall at the South is usually amply suffi- 
cient to insure good crops, and consequently irrigation is not 
of so much importance as in the rainless, arid regions of the 
Northwest, yet where a supply of water can be readily ob- 
tained from some unfailing stream, or can be pumped readily 
by a windmill into a reservoir made cheaply by throwing up 
a dirt embankment around some natural hollow, and so grow- 
ing crops, especially vegetables and small fruits, can at any 
time be irrigated, there is no reason why the Southern farmer 
should not secure such an advantage, just as the Colorado 
or California farmer does. 

At certain seasons and times of the year an extra sup- 
ply of water would be of great value, especially upon fields 
of second crop potatoes or cabbages. 

It is well, therefore, that the Southern farmer should 
look carefully into this matter and see if irrigation is possible 
on his farm. 

We find in the American Agriculturist, Southern edi- 
tion, December 7, 1895, a description of a cheap home- 
made windmill which was built by S. S. Faggurt, of Finney 
County, Kan., as follows: 

"The wheel consists of eight gas pipe arms, about 
7 feet long, set radially into an axle which is mounted 
on an upright frame-work, just high enough so that the 
revolving arms will clear the ground. To each arm is fixed 
a triangular sail of heavy cloth, so shaped and attached as 
to catch the wind and give a rotary motion to the wheel, on 
precisely the principle of the ordinary mill. The frame 
work being stationary gives no opportunity for the wheel to 



320 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

"follow the wind" and so catch the full impact from all 
directions, but the prevailing direction in southwest Kansas 
is northerly or southerly, and by setting the mill so as to 
catch such winds, little power is lost. Twenty feet away 
from the wheel is the water elevator, which consists of an 
endless belt of canvas, carrying wooden blocks or paddles 
every i6 inches, and working in an inclined trough, one 
end of which is in the shallow well from which the water 
supply is derived, and the other at the surface. A tumbling 
rod running from the windmill gives motion to the wheel 
over which the endless belt works, and the paddles, fitting 
the trough closely and moving upwards, carry with them a 
surprisingly large quantity of water. The entire contrivance 
costs less than $12, yet in a good wind it will elevate 150 
gallons per minute — more than many of the $300 plants in 
the neighborhood. 

Buckets would be an improvement on the paddles which 
waste a great deal of water." 

FARMERS' SHIPPING CLUBS. 

For the successful handling of a considerable portion of 
the farmers' and fruit raisers' products, nothing perhaps is 
as beneficial as a farmers' shipping club. 

The plan is for a number of farmers and fruit growers 
of a given locality, near a railroad town or station, say from 
50 to 100 persons, to form themselves into a farmers' 
society or club, selecting their own name for the organiza- 
tion, "Farmers' Cooperative Shipping Club" probably being 
as good as any, the members coming together for business 
purposes for an hour or two once a week, say on Saturdays, 
when they are usually in town. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 321 

The object of this society is to ship the different pro- 
ducts (barring cotton for the present) raised by the mem- 
bers, to the best markets, North, South or West, in car load 
lots. Take for instance the following articles: 

One barrel of apples from each of 150 members, will fill 
a car. Three bushels of potatoes from each member, or six 
bushels each from seventy-five members, fill a car. Four 
crates of berries from each of 150 members, fill a car. One 
fat hog each, from sixty members, is a car load. One fat 
ox, shipped by each of 150 members, fills five cars. One 
sheep each from 100 members fills a double decked car. 

"What next?" you inquire, "Where shall they ship 
them, and how get their pay?" 

Let us take up the organization of the club, and we 
shall find the answers to these questions. 

First. A meeting of the farmers is called, and the or- 
ganization effected by signing a very simple constitution and 
by-laws, and the payment into the treasury of the club 50 
cents by each member, which is a full membership fee, and 
the subsequent payment of a small sum, say 50 cents per 
year of expense dues. 

One of the members is then elected by ballot as the 
general manager or agent. This should be a good, live bus- 
iness man, and one in whom all have confidence. 

By application to the transportation company, giving 
the names of members, a stencil plate with name and mem- 
bership number will be furnished to each shipper, the ex- 
pense of this being borne by the commission merchants; 
blanks for bills of lading are furnished by the transporta- 
tion company, to be filled, out and forwarded with each car 

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AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 323 

It will be understood the figures giving number of pack- 
ages indicate also the style of package thus, iS/i, means 
IS one-third bushel, crates (boxes), etc. 

Four copies of this bill of lading are made out, one be- 
ing retained by the general manager of the club, one mailed 
to the commission merchant to whom the car is consigned, 
and one each to the transportation company's agent and to 
its auditor. 

As soon as the car arrives at its destination, the com- 
mission merchant makes returns direct to each individual 
sJiipper, by check or money order, for the proceeds of each 
man's shipment on its own merit, whether better or worse 
than other shippers' lots. 

Arrangements are often made with the commission mer- 
chants by which such portion of their customary selling com- 
mission is thrown off and rebated to the club, as is generally 
found to be more than sufHcient to pay the running expenses 
of the club, such as postage, telegraph charges, stationery, 
office rent, secretary's (or general manager's) salary, if any, 
etc., the balance going into the pockets of the members in 
proportion to each man's shipments. 

Not only the articles enumerated above, but eggs, hay, 
cabbage, peanuts, tobacco and, in fact, almost all farni pro- 
ducts (barring cotton, as we have said, which for the present 
had better be sold outright where it is raised) can be shipped 
thus and sold to the best advantage by this cooperative plan. 

This is a farmers' alliance, indeed, and gives an oppor- 
tunity for the farmer to sell many a dollar's worth of produce, 
paying only car load freight rates — not express or broken 
car rates, getting these products into the best markets in the 



324 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

shortest possible time, and receiving his pay direct by return 
mail. 

Take red Astrachan or early June apples ; is not this a 
better way of disposing of them, than to peddle them out in 
a small way in a small town, or let the boys sell them out in 
5 cent lots to passengers on the trains, in competition with 
all the other boys of the town? Why not ship them North 
where early fruits are in demand? 

Full lists of reliable commission men are furnished by the 
transportation company's agents, and these dealers vie with 
each other to give best results on consignments and make 
prompt returns, so that they may secure future shipments 
from the club. A dishonest commission merchant, like a 
dishonest shipper, is soon found out. 

One advantage to be noted is that each member shares 
in the benefits to be derived from telegrams and daily corre- 
spondence in regard to the state of the markets. In this way 
the cost to each individual is very small. The experience of 
the members also, as to the best methods of packing, and 
best points to ship different articles to at different dates is 
valuable. 

Another advantage, and perhaps the most important, is 
the security it gives the members in planting certain crops, 
diversifying their products, which crops no farmer may at 
first want to risk, or have the means to grow car load lots of, 
yet in this way they can ship at car load rates. The farmer 
is as safe with 5 bushels as with 500. Any member, how- 
ever, is not debarred from shipping to any point by express 
or by freight, individually, if he chooses to do so ; or any 
car load lot may be sold by the general agent of the club for 
spot cash, on the ground, if the ofificers of the society, who 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 325 

constitute its board of managers, deem this better than the 
risk of shipment. Buyers from all parts of the country fre- 
quently come in, and are encouraged to come and buy at 
market price, to ship in car loads by freight or in smaller lots 
by express. 

Here, then, is a beneficial and lawful farmers' combine 
— a farmer's alliance that has no politics in it. Gold Bugs, 
Silverites, Democrats, Populists and Republicans can all unite 
here. Politics are barred; they never come inside the doors 
of the club room. This arrangement is working admirably 
where it has been tried in the South. 

"KILN DRIED" SWEET POTATOES. 

This does not mean dessicated or evaporated sweet po- 
tatoes, but is a new idea and enterprise, easily managed by 
any raiser of this vegetable, and is a matter of prime impor- 
tance to Southern farmers. 

Kiln drying is simply extracting the surplus moisture 
from whole potatoes. This is done in a building to suit the 
requirements of the size of the crop, say 40x60 feet, 16 feet 
high, without windows and with but one door at the end. 
When the frame is up take thick building paper and tack on 
the studding inside and out, under ceiling and weatherboard- 
ing; put the same material in roof, floors and overhead ceil- 
ing; this makes a frost proof and air-tight building. Then 
when the potatoes are ripe and properly air dried, the mer- 
chantable potatoes are "ricked up" in this house. The ricks 
are made by putting upright 2x4 studding 6 feet apart. The 
potatoes are then corded in straight as you would rick up 
cord wood until the house is full, excepting a space of 10 feet 



326 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

square in the center directly under the ventilator in the roof, 
which should be made to close when needed. 

In this space put a stove, a coal base burner is best, 
build fire in this and close everything; provide a thermometer 
and let the temperature run up to from 90 to iio degrees. 
Within thirty-six hours little white shoots will sprout from 
the potatoes, and in sixty hours (still keeping the tempera- 
ture above 90 degrees) the surplus moisture in the composi- 
tion of the potato will be carried off, the tubers being at the 
same time covered with the white shoots. Then the potato 
is "kiln dried," and will keep for two years if left in the 
ricks in this air-tight buildings, or from six months to a year 
in barrels. The best variety to dry is the Yellow Nansemond 
or Jersey Yam. The larger whiter fleshed varieties cannot 
be easily kiln dried. 

The shoots are rubbed off with the hand at packing 
time by boys and women, and barrels filled and headed up 
the same as in packing apples. The potatoes are of a f^ne 
nut brown color and of superior flavor, and are the only sweet 
potatoes, excepting a few very early ones, that will sell in 
any Northern city. These sell f. o. b. in car loads at $3 per 
barrel, but others will not sell at any price. Thousands of 
car loads of kiln dried can readily be sold. 

HOW TO BUILD A ROOT OR FRUIT CELLAR IN THE 

SOUTH. 

Do not build it under the house ; it is much easier man- 
aged when built independently. 

The best place is in a hillside, or where the ground is 
sloping. Commence on the lower side, where a roadway 
can conveniently come in, and dig say 15 feet wide and 



AND FRUIT' raiser's GUIDE. 327 

30 to 40 feet back, into the bank, sloping the floor a 
little to the front, for drainage. It is best to have it front 
south or east. A good rock wall, laid up with mortar, 
18 to 24 inches thick, should then be carried up 8 feet high, 
with air ducts or chimneys built on the sides, from the floor 
to I or 2 feet above top of wall. 

Bank the earth you have thrown out, around the sides 
to near the top of the walls. Frame a roof and cover with 
boards nailed close together, and shingle the same as you 
would a house. It might be well in the north part of the 
South to put building paper under the shingles to make the 
roof more impervious to cold; in fact, the whole building 
should be both cold and heat proof. 

The ventilators which may be built as directed above, 
or put in the roof, must be closed when the thermometer 
drops to 20 degrees or less above zero. 

Put the potatoes in piles 10 feet deep on the dirt floor, 
if it is not damp, or on a cemented floor or board decking 
raised a few inches. Keep the temperature at 50 degrees. 
The tubers will not sprout if kept at an even low temper- 
ature, and Southern grown late potatoes will keep in splendid 
condition thus until the following May or June. The cellar 
should be kept dark. 

Apples keep admirably in bins or long trays in such a 
cellar, so they can be looked over from time to time and 
any decaying fruit picked out. 

Such a cellar as this will frequently in one season pay 
its entire cost, in the increased price of vegetables or fruits 
stored therein, over what they could have been sold for as 
soon as gathered. 



328 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

LAYING A CEMENT CELLAR FLOOR. 

Professor S. T . Maynard, in American Agriculturist. 
A solid foundation on a thoroughly underdrained soil, 
where there shall be no water oozing up at any time, is essen- 
tial. The best foundation is small stones tamped into the 
soil and covered with coarse sand. Fresh, well-burned 
cement should be used — Rosendale for foundation and Port- 
land for surface. Mix thoroughly one part of the first cement 
with two parts of sand in a box or mortar bed, then add 
water, stirring all the while until a soft mortar is made, a little 
thinner than brick mortar. Prepare only as much as can be 
spread in ten or fifteen minutes, then mix another lot. Spread 
each lot from 2 to 4 inches thick, according to strength re- 
quired, as soon as thoroughly mixed, making it as smooth as 
possible with a mason's steel float, and working backward 
from that which is laid until the floor is covered. Let this 
stand for a day or two, or until it can be crossed without cut- 
ting into it, then spread a coating of Portland cement and 
sand, one to three parts, ^ to i inch thick, making it very 
smooth and fine with the mason's steel trowel or float. This 
will be hard in from three to four days. Instead of putting 
on two coats, if Portland and Rosendale cement are mixed in 
equal parts, one coat well smoothed will be sufficient. The 
brands of Portland cement used for producing the best work 
are the Atlas, Dykerhoff and several others of imported 
cements. If the ground is dry before the work begins, it 
should be thoroughly moistened, that it may not dry un- 
evenly. Slow drying is better than very rapid drying. 
Good, clean, sharp sand will make better work than fine or 
impure sand. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 329 

TO BUILD A GOOD STONE WALL WITHOUT MORTAR. 

Construct two horses or frames built of strips of wood, 
the shape of a cross section of the fence you wish to build, 
say 2 feet wide at the base, i foot at the top and 4 feet high. 

Remove from the line of the proposed fence all grubs, 
brier roots, small trees, stumps, etc., and then set up the 
frames and fasten them at the ends of the first section of 
fence, say 30 feet apart, and stretch cords from their bottom 
and top outside corners as guides for laying the wall uni- 
formly. 

Use small stones at the bottom, reserving the large ones 
to tie the walls with. The best place to use large stones is 
just that height in the wall where they will face both sides 
and so act as binders; if put at the bottom, reaching part of 
the way across, and the remaining space filled out with small 
stones, the frost in the winters will heave the ground and 
split the wall where the small and large stones come to- 
gether, and the result will be your wall will tumble and be 
soon ruined. 

It is a little more work to build a wall where the large 
stones have to be lifted into place, and if you are hiring men 
to build the wall they are pretty sure to place the large 
stones at the bottom unless you insist that the wall shall be 
built properly, with the smaller rocks at the bottom and the 
larger ones as binders farther up. It is a good plan to 
have some loose dirt thrown in among the stones at the bot- 
tom, as it will keep dry and the frost will not heave such 
dirt so as to injure your wall. This will also aid in prevent- 
ing the frost from getting under the bottom layers. 

When your wall is completed in this manner, bank it 
up well on each side, and you will have a wall that will 
stand for a lifetime. 




PART VI» 

^ Live Stock; ^ 

Hints and Directions for Butter Making, Etc. 

FAT CATTLE IN THE SOUTH. 

■ROM what has been said herein in re- 
gard to grasses and forage plants, 
which furnish a plentiful supply of 
excellent pasturage and fodder, it 
will be readily seen that the South 
is a favored land for stock raising. 
But in addition to these advantages other features should 
be noticed, such as the abundant supplies of fine stock water, 
the long, genial summers and correspondingly short and mild 
winters. 

There is another great advantage enjoyed here in the 
eminently cheap and yet exceedingly valuable food found in 
cotton seed, cotton seed meal, and cotton seed hulls, both as 
daily rations in small quantities to young stock, and as fat- 
tening food in the place of corn to grown cattle. 







AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 331 

After full trial it is found that a ration of 7 to 8 pounds 
of cotton seed meal with 20 to 24 pounds of cotton seed 
hulls, fed daily 100 days to 100 head of cattle, increased 
their weight on an average 4 pounds per day each. But this 
is not all ; every farmer should know that a poor steer weigh- 
ing but 800 pounds will only sell for about $15 to $16, while 
the same steer if well fattened up to 1,200 pounds will bring 
$50. This results not only from the additional weight gained, 
but in the greatly improved quality of the entire beef. Cot- 
ton seed meal and hulls can be bought from any of the large 
cotton seed oil mills of the South, or will be furnished by any 
dealer in stock feed. 

If the Southern farmer lives remote from any of our great 
cotton oil mills, and from railroad station, so that he cannot 
well supply himself with cotton seed meal and hulls cheaply, 
a ration of cotton seed, corn and corn cobs, ground up all 
together, will be found a very cheap and excellent food. But 
whether the cattle are fed with the commercial meal and hulls 
or with home ground cotton seed, corn and cobs, the stock 
should always have free access to plenty of pure water and 
of salt. 

The farmer who lives remote from railroads would do 
well to provide himself with a good mill for grinding such 
foods as those spoken of. Such mills, costing from $5 to 
$100 each, according to size and grinding capacity, hand or 
horse power, can be bought of any good hardware or ma- 
chinery dealer, in any large town. 

Once a week, say on Sunday, the cattle should be fed 
hay or fodder only, or should be turned into a good pasture, 
thus keeping the bowels open and the stock in fine, healthy, 
growing condition. These are not matters of speculation, 



332 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

there is no guesswork about it, but for the past six or seven 
years thousands of cattle have been fed in the yards near our 
great cotton seed oil mills with results above quoted. 

DISEASES AND TREATMENT OF HORSES AND MULES. 
HOW TO GIVE MEDICINE TO ANIMALS. 

Those which are tasteless can be put in their feed ; those 
which are soluble, in drinking water. If the medicine is of a 
purgative character do not repeat the dose until time (say 
twenty-four hours) has been given for it to act. Medicines 
given to relieve pain can, if found necessary, be given every 
hour; tonics and stimulants four to six times a day. It is 
well to taste yourself the preparations you give (great care 
being taken to let the portion be very small if the medicine is 
astringent or poisonous;; a man should not give to an 
animal anything that he cannot take himself, in smaller quan- 
tity, into his own stomach. 

In giving powders use a long handled kitchen spoon^ 
drawing the tongue out with the left hand and placing the 
powder well back upon the roots of the tongue with the 
spoon. A little practice will make this quite easy. Another 
method of administering medicines is to form them into long 
pills or boluses, say 13^ inches long, and i inch in diameter. 
These may be made by the incorporation of the drug with 
bran or meal wet up with molasses, mucilage or soap to 
make it stick together, the pill then being covered with soft 
paper. The tongue of the animal being then drawn out the 
bolus is slipped down the throat. An iron, called a boiling 
iron, or a plow clevis, is sometimes used to keep the mouth 
open. Sometimes large gelatine capsules are used, into 
which the medicine is put. These can usually be procured 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 333 

from a druggist; but the paper covered bolus as above is 
generally found to be fully as good and convenient. 

Injections: These are sometimes given by the rectum, 
and at other times given in small quantities with a small bulb 
syringe and a common pipe stem into the mouth. 

Hypodermic injections : Such medicines as are perfectly 
soluble in water can often be given by injection under the 
skin, with a sharp pointed (hypodermic) syringe. Dissolve 
the medicine in pure water, fill the syringe, run its needle- 
like point under the skin at some loose place where the har- 
ness will not chafe it — just back of the foreleg is as good as 
any other place — and discharge the syringe. In this manner 
the medicine goes almost instantly into the circulation of the 
blood, and speedy relief from acute pain is often gained. 

EPIZOOTIC, OR INFLUENZA. 

This disease, sometimes also called pink eye, is of an 
epidemic character, sometimes spreading over a wide extent 
of country. The symptoms are fever with coughing, inflam- 
mation of the mucous membrane of the nose, redness of the 
eyes, hence the name of "pink eye." The animal becomes 
weak, and heavy discharges of phlegm come from the nose. 

The treatment usually found to be efficacious is with 
warm, laxative food, such as bran mashes, in which a little 
bruised flax seed has been put. House the animal well, shut- 
ting off all cold draughts, give him a comfortable bedding of 
straw, and if he seems very weak administer tonics, such as 
whisky and quinine. The chief remedy, in our opinion, is a 
tincture of poke root (phytolacca) made from the root of the 
common poke berry. Dig the root, cut into small pieces, dry 
it in a pan in the oven (without burning it), when it is dry put 



334 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

it into a bottle and turn enough whisky or alcohol, reduced 
one-third to one-half with water, on it. Dose for a full-grown 
horse a tablespoonful every two hours, given in water, until 
four doses have been given. This can be administered very 
easily with a long-handled kitchen spoon or by drenching^ 
that is by putting it into a strong wine or beer bottle, the neck 
of which is put down the animal's throat, the horse's head 
having been elevated by passing his bridle reins over a beam 
in the ceiling of the stable. Do not turn all the liquid down 
at once, let it trickle down slowly so as not to choke him. 
Poke root is in every case of cold or epizootic the first remedy 
to use, it will often drive away the attack, drying up the 
discharge, if given in time. 

COLT DISTEMPER. 

This disease, which sometimes attacks young colts, is of 
a somewhat similar character to the foregoing, and should be 
treated similarly. 

This trouble, however, is sometimes accompanied with 
swellings under the jaws which frequently burst and discharge 
large quantities of pus. If these swellings do not subside, 
but swell without bursting and are evidently painful, a poultice 
or blister should be applied, and when the swelling is ripe it 
should be opened, and the accumulated pus discharged. 

The first remedy to use is the extract of poke root as 
recommended as above, a smaller quantity being given to a 
young colt than to an old horse. This remedy is excellent 
as a preventive, and if taken in time will often drive off the 
attack. 

GLANDERS. 

This is one of the most dangerous and contagious of 
diseases, not only to other animals but to man himself. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 335 

Characteristic symptoms are heavy discharges from one 
or both nostrils, of very fetid, offensive matter, and often 
the forming of small ulcers on the partition of the nose. 
There is no known remedy. Send for a veterinary surgeon, 
or have the animal killed at once, the carcass burned or 
buried deep, and well covered with abundance of quicklime. 
The stable, harness, and all other articles and things which 
the animal has used or come in contact with, should be thor- 
oughly disinfected by the use of a strong hot solution of 
copperas water; by smoking over a brush fire, etc., and no 
horse should be allowed to come into the stable, even after 
it is thoroughly disinfected or fumigated, or to come into 
contact with any exposed articles for several months. Unless 
the disease is at once stamped out by these energetic meas- 
ures, it is likely to spread through the entire community and 
hundreds of animals fall victims to it. 

SPASMODIC, OR CRAMP COLIC. 

This trouble is usually the effect of cold, but sometimes 
of errors or change in feeding, and the seat of it is in the 
bowels, rather than in the stomach as is the case in flatulent 
colic. The attack is sudden. The pain is not continuous, 
and the bloating or distention of the abdomen as in flatulent 
colic is wanting. These differences serve to distinguish it 
from other forms of colic. There are usually frequent pas- 
sages from the bowels, of small volumes, sometimes accom- 
panied with diarrhoea and attempts to urinate. 

Treatment: Friction of the limbs and body is recom- 
mended, blanketing, keeping the animal in a warm place, 
injections of warm water by the rectum (about one gallon 
being used), injected carefully with a large syringe. If the 



336 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

pain continues, give eitiier of the following, as recommended 
by the Arkansas Experiment station : 

(i) Chloral Hydrate, i oz. 

•Sulphate of Morphine, 4 gr. 
Water, 10 oz. 

(2) Oil of Turpentine, ^ oz. 

Laudanum, ^ oz. 
Raw Linseed Oil, i pt. 

The South Carolina Experiment Station recommends 
the following : 

Fluid Extract Belladonna, i dr. 

Fluid Extract Hyoscyamus, 2 dr. 

Fluid Extract Cannabis Indica, 2 dr. 

Fluid Extract Nux Vomica, i dr. 
Add enough mucilage or raw linseed oil to make the 
whole 12 ounces, and give at one dose. If relief does not 
come, repeat the dose in an hour. 

Sometimes intestinal worms present in large numbers, 
are the cause of colic symptoms. For this trouble give 
white ash bark burnt to ashes and made into a strong lye, 
mix y^ pint of this with i pint warm water, and give all, 
two or three times daily; or, wormseed oil i oz., oil tur- 
pentine 4 dr., castor oil 3 oz., fluid extract spigelia i oz., 
hydrastin 20 gr., syrup of peppermint i oz. Dose two 
lablespoonfuls in four tablespoonfuls of water three times a 

day, before eating. 

FLATULENT COLIC. 

In this disease the rapid bloating of the abdomen is the 
characteristic symptom. It is caused, doubtless, by the indi- 
gestion and rapid fermentation of food, such as clover or 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 337 

Other green forage, or unseasoned hay or grain, a gas being 
formed in the larger intestinal canal, which, if not soon re- 
lieved, frequently causes death. 

Massage of the abdomen and walking the animal about 
are recommended. 

A chemical absorbent that will unite with the acid gas 
in the stomach and reduce its volume; or an alkali, such as 
soda, which will neutralize the acidity of the undigested food 
and prevent the gas from forming, will be found exceedingly 
useful. As a chemical absorbent, chloride of lime, to the 
amount of half an ounce, may be given ; or as a mechanical 
absorbent, pulverized charcoal or air slacked lime in small 
quantities; quicklime will not answer, as it will burn like a 
fire in the stomach. 

Frequent injections of soap and water, to which has been 
added an ounce of turpentine mixed with an equal amount of 
raw linseed oil, are recommended by some authorities. 

If relief is not obtained, the temperature rises, the pulse 
is rapid, and breathing becomes laborious ; no time should be 
lost, but the gas should be let out by puncturing the right 
flank with the trocar. 

This should be performed near the hip bone, directing 
the trocar downward and inward. This should give imme- 
diate relief. This cannot be done with a knife as in the case 
of bloat in cattle, but a trocar, which is a long, spear-like, 
three-cornered lance, should be used. A large knitting 
needle, with one of its points sharpened, might be used, but 
should be first well washed in diluted carbolic acid or bichlo- 
ride of mercury, or not having these, the instrument, what- 
ever it may be, should be well cleaned by rubbing with earth 

P 22 



338 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

or sand, and well rinsed with boiling water, to prevent blood 
poisoning. 

The South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, in 
its Bulletin No. 22, speaking of the use of the trocar in cases 
of flatulent colic, says: "The trocar should be inserted in 
the upper third of the flank, on the right side at a point 
equally distant from the transverse process of the lumbar ver- 
tebrae, hip bone, and point of last rib. The trocar and cannula 
are held firmly in the hand, put upon the described spot, and 
with one quick, sharp blow driven into the inside in a down- 
ward and inward direction. The trocar is then withdrawn, 
and the gas will as a rule leave by the cannula. Before intro- 
ducing the instrument into the body, it must be made clean 
by allowing it to remain a few minutes in a 5 per cent solu- 
tion of carbofic acid, or by boiling it a few minutes. The 
spot on the animal to be punctured should be thoroughly 
scrubbed with soap and water and rinsed off with the carbolic 
acid solution. The cleaning of the instruments and the parts 
to be punctured is quite necessary, and should never be omit- 
ted, if good results are expected." 

This disease is one of the most frequent and fatal to 
horses, and calls for constant watchfulness on the part of the 
owner in the changing of food rations from dry to green 
fodder. 

HEAVES. 

This disease is not very common at the South, but cases 
sometimes occur. 

Symptoms : — Labored breathing when exercised, the 
flanks heave, hence the name. It is usually worse on damp, 
rainy days than on others. Feeding dusty hay makes it 
worse. It is caused undoubtedly by the closing of part of 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 339 

the air cells of the lungs by inflammation, and the animal has 
to labor harder to get a sufficient amount of breath. 

Arsenic in 5 grain doses is recommended as beneficial, 
but the disease is said to be chronic and incurable, and money 
spent for cures is probably thrown away. 

SPAVIN AND RING BONE. 

This is a disease of the hock joint. It is similar to ring 
bone. The lameness is usually acute for the first few steps 
but grows less as the animal is exercised. When started after 
a second rest the lameness is as acute as before. The animal 
usually drags the foot and wears off the toe of the shoe in 
traveling. Sometimes lumpy, callous bunches are formed 
upon the hock bone, but in other cases they do not occur. 

Treatment. — Turn the animal out to pasture for two 
months. If lameness continues it should be "fired and 
blistered." This treatment should only be attempted by a 
veterinary surgeon. 

Ring-bone is a similar deposit of bony material around 
the pastern. There is usually inflammation and lameness 
preceding the enlargement of the bone. The treatment is 
exactly the same as for spavin. 

STIFLE. 

This is a dislocation of the stifle joint. It is common in 
some young horses. 

Symptoms. — The animal drags the hind leg, being unable 
to bring it forward. 

Treatment . — Put a rope around the fetlock, bring it for- 
ward around the neck and draw the leg forward, pressing 
inward toward the flank at the same time on the stifle bone, 
when it will slip into place with a jerk. The same trouble 



340 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

sometimes occurs with cattle, and should be treated in the 
same manner. 

FOUNDER. 

This is a disease of the membranes of the foot, that 
secrete the hoofs. The forefeet are usually affected. It is 
said to be caused by eating too freely of highly stimulating 
food, by overwork, 'sudden chills when overheated, or by 
long journeys under saddle beyond the strength and endur- 
ance of the animal. 

Symptoms. — The horse stands with the forelegs extended 
forward and the hindlegs drawn under the body. This is 
accompanied by rapid pulse, high fever, dilated nostrils and 
painful expression of the eye. The animal is disinclined to 
move, and when compelled to do so, seems to suffer great 
pain. 

Treatment. — Apply poultices to the feet and legs, put- 
ting dry cloths over the damp ones, or stand the horse in ice 
water or a mud hole half a day. Then throw him, or com- 
pel him to lie down, and take off his shoes while in this 
position, as this cannot be done while he is standing, the 
pain being too great for him to stand on one foot while the 
shoe is removed from the other. These cases generally re- 
cover but often the legs, especially the hoofs, are deformed 
afterwards, permanently. 

LOCK-JAW. 

This is usually caused by a wound such as that made 
by a nail in the foot, or may follow castration, etc. 

Symptoms — The muscles of the jaw are rigid so that the 
teeth are locked tightly together; the neck is arched, tail 
raised, eyes sunken and sometimes the inner lid covers the 
eyeball. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 341 

Treatment — This is very simple. The animal should be 
put in a dark, loose box or stall, with hay and water in the 
manger and left alone. No one should go near him, make 
any noise or bother him in any way. No stranger should go 
near him and the person who is in the habit of taking care of 
him should only visit him to give feed and water. Of course 
before this is done the cause of the trouble should be sought 
for, and if the nail or other foreign matter is still in the foot, 
it should be removed, the wound washed with carbolic solu- 
tion, and care taken to give outlet to pus, or suppurative 
matter, that may form. 

HORSE OINTMENT. 

Rosin, 4 ounces; beeswax, 4 ounces; lard, 8 ounces; 
honey, 2 ounces. Melt these slowly together, bringing them 
gently to a boil, then remove from the fire and add a little 
less than a pint of spirits of turpentine, stirring all the time 
while this is being added. 

This will be found to be an excellent ointment for all 
bruises of the flesh or hoofs, for saddle or harness galls, 
cracked heels, or any cuts or sores of man or beast ; it will 
also be found excellent to apply to burns or scalds to take the 
fire out. It would be well for the farmer to keep a supply 
of this ointment ready for use at all times, keeping that to 
be used by the family in a different vessel and place from 
that to be used for stock, 

LINIMENT. 

Oil of spike, oil of turpentine and ammonia water, of 
each 2 ounces; sweet oil and oil of amber, of each i^ 
ounces; oil of origanum i ounce. Mix. 

This will be found excellent for lameness, inflammations, 
and for all cases in which a liniment is desired. 



342 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

TO BREAK COLTS. 

Every colt should have a little halter made for it, and 
slipped on, even before the colt is weaned. Take it off and 
put it on several times a day. At first it should have no 
hitching strap to it, then add a strap and tie it to the bridle 
of the mother. In a few weeks change the halter to a small 
bridle, with bit and all complete, keeping this on but a short 
time at first, at the same time putting a small surcingle around 
his body, then in a few days strap on a blanket, and at last 
put on a small saddle, treating the little fellow with perfect 
kindness and gentleness at all times, and as soon as he begins 
to feed, give him, as a reward for good conduct or to induce 
quiet behavior, a piece of sugar, apple or a little bran or 
meal, anything of which you find he is fond, and by the time 
the horse is two years old he will be broken to saddle, and 
by similarly getting him used to buggy shafts and hitching 
alongside of his mother when driving her, you will find you 
have him well broken both to saddle and harness. 

"Be kind to your horses" says a writer in the Ohio CiU- 
tivator, and proceeds to argue the wherefore in this sensible 
wise: "In the course of my life I have seen a good many 
horses, some, too, that were called ugly horses. Now, it is 
my opinion that there is no use owning what might be called 
an ugly horse. Use the whip and spur less, and in their place 
put kindness. Three grains of kindness are worth all the 
whips and spurs in the world in breaking a colt. There are 
a great many horses injured for want of kindness. This I 
am sure no one will pretend to deny. The colt has never 
been handled. The man, with several others to help him, 
drives the colt into the stable. He then forces a bit into his 
mouth, and if there is one among them that dares, he jumps 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 343 

upon his back, well armed with a stout whip, and very often 
a spur; these he does not forget to use. He clings to the 
colt's back as long as he is able, but is finally thrown off. 
He tries again and again, until, completely exhausted, the 
colt is obliged to yield, that is for the time being. Is this 
the way to break colts? No, to be sure it is not. The golden 
rule will apply here as well as anywhere. So be kind to your 
horses, my gentle friends." 

WHEN TO WATER HORSES. 
From the Americuji Agriculturist. 

Always water your horses the first thing in the morning, 
and do not let the water be too cold. If it is too cold you 
will probably have a case of colic. Water is best when it is 
about 10 degrees warmer than the outside air in winter, and 
as much cooler in summer. Give the hay before the grain so 
that the stomach may be partially filled before the concen- 
trated food gets into it. Better still, feed chopped feed. Mix 
the ground grain with dampened hay or fodder, and give the 
largest feed at night when the horsfe has time to digest it. 
Fat and food for the muscles are made when the horse is at 
rest. 

HOW TO CURE A BALKY HORSE. 
In the first place, my friends, please remember that you 
cannot cure a horse of this habit by whipping him. Every 
blow you strike will only make him worse ; not because the 
horse is obstinate, but because he is so constituted that when 
he once balks, a hypnotic condition comes upon him when- 
ever like circumstances occur, which makes it impossible for 
him to exert his- will power, and so he stands like one in a 
trance, unable to move. 



344 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

It has often been said that the mind of a horse cannot 
hold more than one idea at a time, and our observation 
leads us to believe this true. 

But we think we hear you say, "Hurry up and tell us 
how to cure a horse of balking," 

We will tell you how we cured ours. He would balk 
and then back. We cured him by providing a small supply, 
a few handfuls, of grass in our buggy, and just as soon as he 
balked, gave him a mouthful of it, and taking him gently 
by the bit, led him forward a few steps, then gave him 
another mouthful, got into the buggy and drove on. We 
always treated the horse kindly, never touched him with the 
whip when he balked, and in a week or ten days had him 
entirely cured ; and as this was about three years ago and 
we own the horse still, and he has never shown the least 
disposition to balk since, we can safely say he is permanently 
cured. 

We have heard that to tie a small cord around a balky 
horse's ear, and twitch this when he balks, will make him 
go; also, that a similar cord tied around the roots of his 
tail, carried forward under his belly and brought up over his 
shoulder and so back to the driver's hand, would, if pulled 
in short jerks, make a balky horse forget to balk and start 
forward. We have no confidence in these methods, but 
recommend highly the grass treatment, coupled with kind- 
ness and quiet, gentle handling. 

In the winter time, if you have no grass, substitute 
good sweet hay or fodder, an apple, or other food of which 
the horse is fond, for the grass. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 345 



STABLES. 



At the South, where our winters are comparatively mild, 
a common fault is to build stables altogether too open, the 
custom being to construct them of logs, not filling the cracks 
in any way, so that cold draughts of air find their way in on 
all sides. We have so many warm days and cold nights that 
the change of temperature in twelve hours is often very 
great, and stock often suffer exceedingly. The difference in 
appearance between the coats of horses kept in livery stables 
and other comfortable quarters, and those of ordinary farm- 
ers' horses, speaks loudly of the value of the housing of the 
former; and the difference is not in appearance only, but al- 
so in liveliness and endurance. The well-housed horse has 
largely the advantage. 

It is well to have sufftcient ventilation in the top of the 
barn so that the air may be pure, but do not let cold winds 
blow in at night upon the body of the horse from openings in 
the stables, and especially do not leave a window open at his 
head, as, if the wind should blow strong from that direction 
during the night, the probable result will be a heavy cold on 
the lungs or epizootic disease that will greatly weaken the 
horse. 

CONSTRUCTION OF STABLES. 
When about to construct a stable, select, if possible, a 
dry position; or, at least, one in which a system of draining 
can be put in operation. Another point is to obtain a shel- 
tered location — one where the north winds will not have full 
play upon it. A southern front (especially if sheds for cattle 
extend so as to form, with the barn, the three sides of a 
square) is preferable to any other. 



346 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Damp stables are as prolific of disease as damp houses. 
Speaking in reference to this the Stable Book says, "here it 
is we expect to find horses with bad eyes, coughs, greasy 
heels, swelled legs, mange, and a long, rough, dry, staring 
coat, which no grooming can cure. The French attribute 
glanders and farcy to a damp atmosphere; and in a damp 
situation we find these diseases most prevalent. In London 
there are several stables under the surface ; they are never 
dry, and never healthy. The bad condition, and the disease 
so common and so constantly among their ill-fated inhabi- 
tants, may arise from a combination of causes; but there is 
every reason to believe that humidity is not the least potent." 
When horses are first lodged in a damp stable they soon 
show how much the change affects them. They become 
dull, languid, feeble; the coat stares; they refuse to feed; 
at fast work (through weakness) they cut their legs in spite 
of all care to prevent them. Some horses thus placed catch 
colds, become exceedingly liable to such contagious diseases 
as influenza, etc., and from frequent visitation of this nature 
the lungs become weakened, and consumption ends the scene. 
We can hardly say that the majority of our Southern 
stables are so constructed as to exclude the air — the reverse of 
this is generally the case, especially in severe weather — but 
very few of them are so arranged as to obtain perfect ventila- 
tion. If closely built, as they ought to be for comfort, and 
windows inserted where we now have holes, then the air would 
be exceedingly impure and we should soon witness the work- 
ings of this evil. Pneumonia is the offspring of illy ventilated 
stables. Dadd, in the Modern Horse Doctor, says: 

"The hot, moist atmosphere, which is to be found in 
the majority of unventilated stables, prevents the insensible 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 347 

perspiration from being evaporated with that rapidity so nec- 
essary for the purification of the system. The atmosphere 
may be said to be saturated with moisture, so that the ex- 
crementitious materials thrown out from the external surface, 
instead of finding a ready outlet in space, where they would 
be soon decomposed and again made fit for respiratory uses, 
are condensed on the surface, and re-absorbed in their defil- 
ing state. It has been discovered by a number of experi- 
ments, that when warm-blooded animals are placed in a hot 
atmosphere, saturated with moisture, the temperature of their 
bodies is gradually raised 12 degrees or 13 degrees above the 
natural standard, and that the consequence is then inevitably 
fatal. Let it be understood, then, that no evaporation from the 
skin can take place when the stable atmosphere is saturated 
with vapor, and also that if this be the case, the heat of the 
body increases, rather than decreases — a condition which 
places our patient beyond the reach of the veterinary art." 

Having secured a favorable location, a two-story build- 
ing will be found best, as hay and fodder can then be stored 
above and fed down into the mangers conveniently. Stairs 
or steps should be built, that ready access may be had into 
the loft, so that your clothing need not be torn and worn out, 
and time wasted, by climbing hand over hand up a slat lad- 
der to get at the feed. Build your stable comfortable /(?;' 
yourself, as well as for your horses. Time spent in securing 
all the conveniences possible is economically employed, in 
view of the saving of time they give all through the many 
years you will have the use of them, A roomy, loose box 
stable for each animal is of course preferable; the size should 
be not less than 10 feet square; but if you feel obliged to 
economize in space and material, especially if you wish to 



348 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Stable a number of horses, stalls may be made 5 or 6 feet 
wide by 12 feet deep, having partitions dividing them from 
those adjoining, running up 6 feet high at the head end and 
sloping down to about 4 feet at the back, which should be 9 
feet from the front, thus leaving an alleyway 3 feet wide, 
behind the horse. Such stalls should always be floored, and 
the floors a little inclined toward the back, to facilitate the 
running off of urine. If not floored the continued voidance of 
water in one spot creates an ill smelling mudpuddle under the 
horse, which is very hard to keep clean. Loose boxes may 
be floored or not, as you choose, but stalls should always 
be floored. Back of each stall should be a slide door in the 
outside wall 12 or 15 inches square, out of which the manure 
can be thrown every morning. This however, should not be 
left where it is thrown, but removed in a wheelbarrow to an 
adjacent shed, where it can be stored in a pile guarded from 
the rain, which if allowed to fall upon it, will cause it to- 
rapidly deteriorate by leaching and fire-fang. 

TO KILL LICE ON FARM STOCK. 

When any stock is infested with lice, whether horses, 
cattle, sheep, or hogs, give copperas in their food every 
other day, for six or eight days — say a half a teaspoonful to a 
sheep. If the above directions are followed, the prescription 
will kill the vermin inside and out, leaving your cattle with a 
clean stomach and a healthy skin. 

HOW TO MAKE COWS EASY MILKERS. 

Some cows are very hard to milk, the lower milk ducts 
being closed, or nearly so; sometimes by the growth of liga- 
ments in the teats. To remedy this, have a blacksmith draw 
you out a small steel lancet, say 6 inches long, so you can 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 349 

handle it well — 5 inches of the length may be round, say 
like a rat tail file, the other inch let him hammer down 
thin, about an eighth of an inch wide, and as thick as a dime. 
Now grind it to a double edge and a sharp point, and whet it 
smooth and keen. 

If your cow is wild, cast her and insert the lance its full 
length (i inch). It is not a very painful operation to the 
cow, and although the milk will be bloody two or three times, 
the wound will very soon heal, the milk flow freely, and your 
cow become as easy a milker as any other. 

Before using the lance it should be thoroughly washed 
in a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid, or well scoured with 
dry earth and afterwards well rinsed with boiling water, and 
after being washed the blade should not be handled before 
being used, or blood poisoning may result to the animal. 
This same precaution should always be taken in the use of 
any surgical instrument; both before and after the operation, 
it should be put through a thorough cleansing process. 

SALTING CATTLE. 

"Should cows or any other cattle have salt given them 
oftener than once a week? Should they have all they 
will eat?" 

That cattle have a natural appetite for saline matter is 
evident from the distance traveled by the deer, buffalo and 
other wild animals to visit their "licks," or places where 
salt or brackish water may be licked up. Salt is supposed 
to be essential, mixed with the food of man or animals, as 
an aid to digestion. Of the quantity necessary, animals 
themselves are unquestionably the best judges. If given at 
intervals of one or two weeks, as is too often the case, so 



350 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

much is eaten as to act as a cathartic, which, with the water 

needed to quench the unusual thirst, produces scouring. 

When obtainable, rock salt in large blocks is preferable; but 

• where this is not to had, common salt may be placed in a 

box (after being wet and then dried, thus making it hard) 

at convenient points under cover, and cattle, horses and 

sheep will help themselves without danger of taking toa 

much. 

CARE OF YOUNG PIGS. 

The following is from a paper prepared by Chas. E. 
Barker and read at the meeting of the Kentucky Swine 
Breeders' Association at Louisville: 

The care of young pigs is the most important part of 
swine breeding, and unless the pig is properly managed the 
hog will never attain its best result. The first important 
step in this matter is a gentle sow; second, a clean, warm 
bed, entirely free of dust (the pig's worst enemy), in a 
place where the sow can be quiet and not annoyed by other 
hogs; third, feed for sow that will make the desired quantity 
(no more) of wholesome milk for the pigs, and fourth, 
plenty of well prepared food for pigs, and with a lot where 
the sunshine and pure air and plenty of exercise will keep 
them in good health. I will say nothing about the breeding 
and previous treatment of the sow, though this is inseparably 
united with successful pig raising, for unless the sow is care- 
fully bred and well provided for, previous to farrowing, the 
result will be disappointing. She must be gentle for reasons 
too obvious to mention here, one being sufficient. Should 
she need any help you could render it. She should be put 
in her lot and become accustomed to her quarters ten days 
or two weeks before farrowing. Her bed should be plenty 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 351 

large, or roomy, dry, clean and warm. She should be as 
much by herself as possible so as not to be excited by any 
other stock at this time. Watch for the farrowing, but do 
not offer any assistance unless positively demanded — she will 
be best alone 99 out of 100 times. Only once in fifteen 
years have I had occasion to render help, and now doubt 
that that was needed. When the pigs are born see that 
they all get to the teats, and let the whole business alone for 
twenty-five hours, only see that the afterbirth is not in the 
way of the pigs and to remove it with a pitchfork if the 
dam does not eat it in an hour or so. The lot should have 
plenty of good drinking water, as the feverish dam will be 
thirsty. The sow will indicate at the end of twenty-four or 
thirty-six hours that she needs something to eat, and should 
be given a thin slop of warm bran or chopped wheat. 
Never give her all she wants. Don't encourage her to eat; 
over-feeding the sow at this time is sure to produce 
a crop of culls. Never let her have as much as she 
wants until the pigs commence to eat slop, and then 
never leave any in her lot. Try at all times to keep 
the sow just as quiet as possible ; be on speaking terms 
with her, scratch her and the pigs and make them gentle, 
and you will find it a great pleasure, as well as profit, to look 
after them every day. I am sure we can not do better for 
two or three days after the birth of the pigs than to secure the 
greatest quiet and comfort for the sow and try and give only 
such attention as is positively required. I have known the 
squealing of a pig to arouse hogs in adjoining lot, and they 
would excite the sow, who would tramp on her pigs and do 
much damage. Keep her quiet by all means. When she 
comes out and wants exercise, have the warm slop (of ground 



352 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

wheat and bran made very thin) ready, and let her have a 
little of it. Don't feed her in the bed nor too near it. Re- 
member, a sow overfed will surely overlay her pigs, as she is 
too dull and sluggish to properly notice them. Gradually 
make the slop as thick as pigs can stand it. I am aware I am 
saying a good deal about the care of the sow, but this is the 
only way to care for young pigs. Just so long as the sow is 
properly cared for, just so long and no longer will the pigs 
be cared for. If the sow is overfed the pigs will suffer the 
consequence; just here is the critical point. If you will 
manage the sow properly for two weeks after the birth of the 
pigs, the fight is half won, and the only way I can do it is 
by close personal attention to the sow. My friends, if you 
don't intend to do this, you had better stop and try some- 
thing else, for you have missed your calling and your plan 
will not go. Feed the sow three times per day, or whenever 
she is up; don't arouse her to feed. Feed on not too rich 
food. Watch closely the pigs, for if the feed scours the pigs 
you have a bad job on hand and some culls. Change feed 
at once. Feed dry bran or wheat; a little skimmed sweet 
milk to the sow is good, also a little charcoal and copperas 
put in the feed once per week all the year round is a fine pre- 
ventive of disease — worth all the cholera cures in America. 
After the pigs commence to eat slop, have a pen where the 
sow can't get to the slop, and feed the pigs a little slop or 
skimmed sweet milk warm. Gradually thicken it with shorts 
or ground wheat, keeping the pigs a little hungry all the 
time, and remembering that a hungry pig is much more de- 
sirable than one overfed. I only use corn or cornmeal for 
pigs after they are two or three months old, and then only in 
cold weather. Corn makes fat and heat, but is too consti- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 353 

pating, while wheat, bran and shorts make bone and muscle, 
and are more laxative. I have almost come to the conclu- 
sion that corn newly made into a slop is a poor hog feed. 
Plenty of sunshine and exercise is also needed and must be 
had. 

PLENTY OF GOOD DRINKING WATER FOR HOGS. 

It will be noticed that in the beginning of the foregoing 
article Mr. Barker speaks of dust as "the pigs' worst enemy," 
and several swine breeders in this State have told us they 
have found that when their hogs were kept and pastured in 
a low wet lot, where there was abundance of water, they 
were perfectly healthy ; but when removed to a field in dry 
stubble, or where the ground was dry and dusty, and the 
water supply was not as good, many died. It seems to be 
a fact that where a hog roots in dry, dusty soil and gets his 
nose and lungs filled with dust, and cannot readily get to 
water, he dies. 

It may be that many cases of so-called "hog cholera," 
or deaths from unknown causes, are the result of want of care 
in this respect. It would be well to see to it that in turning 
hogs on to stubble fields, or giving them the range of a patch 
from which corn, potatoes, etc., have been harvested, the 
ground be not too dry and dusty, and that they have ready 
access to a plentiful supply of good water. 

COTTON SEED AND COTTON SEED MEAL FATAL TO PIGS. 
A test was made at the North Carolina Experiment 
Station, of feeding pigs rations, containing as one of their 
constituents cotton seed meal as contrasted with the feeding 
of other compound rations, in which corn meal was substi- 
tuted for the cotton seed meal, the other constituents being 
p 23 



354 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

in each case the same. The result is summed up in the sta- 
tion bulletin as follows : 

"As the result of feeding cotton seed meal it may be 
stated that 4 ounces were fed per day with 32 ounces of wheat 
bran for twenty days, and 20 ounces of cotton seed meal with 
40 ounces of wheat bran for the following twenty-one days, 
were fed and nearly all consumed by a healthy pig, without 
faltering; but when 2 pounds per day were fed, the pig 
refused to eat so much, and became sick on what was eaten, 
but recovered on a corn diet. This seemed to emphasize 
that cotton seed and cotton seed meal is an unsafe food for 
swine." 

During the first period (of twenty days) 12% pounds 
of separated milk and some green feed were given each day 
to each pig, and during the second period (twenty-one days) 
milk was not given, but a daily supply of green weeds and 
earth pulled up with the weeds, was fed. 

The Texas Experiment Station in its Bulletin No. 21, 
under the heading "Effect of Cotton Seed and Cotton 
Seed Meal in Feeding Hogs," gives the following: 

RESULT OF FEEDING COTTON SEED MEAL TO PIGS. 



Foods. 



Raw cotton seed soaked 

Roasted cotton seed 

Boiled cotton seed. 

Cotton seed meal 

Corn only 



Fed. Died. 



Fed. 



Died. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 355 

This shows the death of ten out of fifteen pigs fed on cot- 
ton seed and cotton seed meal in one year's experiments, 
and seven out of twelve the next year. 

The bulletin goes on to say: "In corroboration of the 
above results for two years in succession, we have to state 
further that several times during the past decade the college 
herd of swine has suffered from attacks of apparently epi- 
demic disease — cause not then understood — the symptoms, 
both before and after death, agreeing closely with the symp- 
toms noted carefully in later tests. Since the later tests have 
warned us of possible cause, we have definitely determined 
that in case of each and every outbreak in the college herd 
of swine — three separate times — sickness occurred within a 
period of ten weeks after the first addition daily of a very 
small quantity of cotton seed meal (not cotton seed) to the 
slop on which the hogs were fed. As above stated, the 
symptoms are remarkably uniform, and once seen, an intelli- 
gent observer will hardly fail to recognize a recurrence of the 
trouble. 

"The first sign of sickness, appearing in from six to 
eight weeks after cotton seed meal is added to the ration, is 
a moping dullness of the animal with a loss of appetite and 
tendency to lie apart. Within the course of twelve to thirty- 
six hours, often within a shorter time, the animal becomes 
restless, staggering in his gait, breathing labored and spas- 
modic, bare skin showing reddish inflammation, sight defect- 
ive, and both the nervous and muscular systems feeble and 
abnormal in action. The fatal cases all show spasmodic 
breathing, and in many instances the animal will turn in one 
direction only — following a fence or building wall so closely 
as to strike his nose against projections in a vain endeavor to 



356 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

push outward in that one direction which he tries to take. 
If no fence or building intercept him, he may travel in a cir- 
cle, large or small, according to the mildness or acuteness of 
the malady in his particular case. When exhausted in his 
efforts, the animal drops down suddenly, sometimes flat upon 
the belly, sometimes dropping on his haunches with his fore- 
legs well apart to keep from falling over, almost always with 
the evidence of more or less acute internal pain. At death 
a quantity of bloody foam exudes from mouth and nostrils," 

The teaching of these tests and observations is, that 
cotton seed or meal, in any known form, is poisonous to 
swine, and however fattening and heathful to cattle, should 
never be fed to hogs. 

GESTATION. 

By this term is meant the duration of pregnancy ; the 
time an animal carries its young in the womb, from the date 
of intercourse to time of delivery. 

Mares — Period varies from 340 to 350 days. Some- 
time, cases occur in which the term is as short as 325 days, 
and sometimes as long as 365 days. 

Cows — Period 280 to 285 days. They also vary in 
times twenty days earlier or later. 

Sows — Period 112 days, with but little variation. 

Sheep — Period 147 days. Some breeds, however, vary 
slightly from this time, more or less. 

BUTTER MAKING AT THE SOUTH. 

An erroneous idea has prevailed in the North in regard 
to butter making in the Southern States ; the majority of 
people there having a settled opinion that good butter can- 
not be produced here, that this and all our other supplies of 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 357 

dairy products excepting fresh milk must be imported from 
the North. 

Now while it is true that great quantities of butter and 
cheese are imported every year, we most strenuously insist 
there is no good reason why this should be done, for where- 
ever practical or scientific butter or cheese making is tried, 
whether by individuals or in creameries and cheese factories, 
in any part of the South, from the Ohio River down to the 
Gulf of Mexico, these articles are made of most excellent 
quality and flavor, and keep as well as any from the North. 

It is true there is an almost unlimited market for such 
products here, and not one-thousandth part as much is made 
in the South as should be. Wherever factories of these 
goods have been started in good locations, and under proper 
conditions and management, they have prospered, finding 
a ready and remunerative market for all their products, but 
we cannot say they have turned out as good goods in all 
cases as they might have done. There are several reasons 
for this : 

First. Pasturage and fodder of cultivated grasses and 
clovers have not in many cases been provided, as they might 
so easily have been. 

Second. Improved breeds of milking stock, such as the 
Jersey, Holsteins, Devons, etc., although there are some good 
herds in the South, have not yet been largely introduced. 

Third. Cotton seed meal and hulls or seed, being great 
milk-producing foods, and very cheap at the South, have 
been largely fed in the vicinity of our creameries, and it is a 
well-proven fact that the finest butter cannot be produced 
when these afticles are made a principal ration. They are 
excellent fattening foods, and should be fed to cattle intended 



358 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

for beef, or they may well be given to cows furnishing milk 
to be sold out by the quart, by the city milk peddler; but if 
fed at all to cows whose milk is to be churned, they should 
only be given in small quantities, with plenty of sweet, green 
or dry grasses or fodders as the main foods. The effect of 
heavy feeding of cotton seed products, is to make the butter 
white and give it a sort of wooly texture not acceptable to 
most palates, and largely wanting in the sweet, delicious taste 
which good butter should have. 

There is not found to be any climatic trouble here to in- 
terfere with the making or keeping of good butter, for it is 
now well known that our summer days are not so hot as those 
experienced in the very heart of the best butter-making dis- 
tricts of New York, Ohio or Illinois; and we have no hot 
nights, such as are frequently experienced there. Certainly 
our summers last longer, but with our seasonable rains, this 
only gives us a longer time for good pasturage and healthful 
out of door life for our cattle ; and butter keeps here with 
the same care as is given it North; fully as well as there, in 
summer or winter. 

Then the question of plenty of cheap ice is now solved 
by the manufacture of this commodity; while the great mul- 
titudes of cool springs, and the certainty of finding ample 
supplies of excellent cold water in open, bored, or artesian 
wells at the South, make good butter making a certainty, 
other things being equal. 

All over the South the old housewives have their thous- 
ands of roofed spring houses, where cool, sweet water flows 
around their milk pans and cream jars. 

Then again, the same breed of cows, fed with like food, 
will give as much and as rich milk, and will have as good if 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 359 

not better health as at the North, and surely will be as 
profitable, when pastured on our lands worth from $5 to $25, 
as upon those North worth from $50 to $100 per acre. 

The following extract from a published letter from I. 
M. Tuller, manager of the Grand Prairie Creameries, near 
Stuttgart, Ark., will illustrate what is, and what can be done 
in butter making at the South. 

"In response to your request for a statement of the 
business done by our Grand Prairie Creameries the past year 
— 1895 — will say that we handled 2,330,373 pounds of milk, 
or 279,645 gallons. This would have required a line of 
wagons and teams 6}i miles long, each wagon carrying a 
ton, or 240 gallons. The product was 114,688 pounds of 
butter, or five and three-fourths carloads, which sold for 
$20,498.80 net. Of this amount $14,275.74 was paid to 
farmers for milk, about $1,600 for labor, $600 on the Stutt- 
gart creamery debt, $435 for additional machinery in the 
Carlisle factory, and the balance, $3,588.09, in operating 
expenses, which includes taxes, repairs on buildings and 
dividends to stockholders. 

"Prices for butter last year were the lowest in the history 
of our creameries. But this was the case in all the dairy pro- 
ducing sections over the world, as well as a depression in nearly 
all farm products. In spite of it, however, our patrons have 
prospered. Add to their $14,000 income for milk, the sales 
from their hogs and calves — at least $10,000 more, and with 
the increase in value of their land, they are freer from debt, 
have more cash at command, better houses and barns, and 
more contented, as a rule, than any other class of farmers in 
the country. 



360 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

"One of our best dairymen said to me a few days ago: 
'I like the creamery better and better. No butter making 
at home, just take my milk to the factory, and once a month 
get spot cash for it, and generally more than I expect. 
Count on me to stay with the creamery.' 

"Prospects for 1896 are encouraging, as business is re- 
viving in a general way everywhere. I am getting Elgin prices^ 
23 to 24 cents for butter, from i to 2 cents more than last 
year this time. Demand and collections are better, and with 
lower cold storage rates for our surplus spring and early 
summer butter, am confident that we can pay considerably 
better prices for milk this year." 

There is still at the South and will be for many years tQ 
come, splendid opportunities for investment and money 
making in butter and cheese production; the long freight 
haul giving the Southern producer a great leverage of profit 
in this item alone. 

In regard to the relative profit in dairying as compared 
with other farming, the following from Bulletin No. 19, oi 
the South Carolina Experiment Station, prepared by J. W. 
Hart, Esq., of the college faculty, is pertinent: 

"If a ton of cotton seed be sold off the farm it removes 
as much fertility as would have been taken off by 25 tons of 
butter worth $400 a ton. The purchase of i ton of cotton 
seed meal will bring back to the farm as much valuable ma- 
terial for plant growth as will have been carried off by the 
sale of forty live hogs, weighing 200 pounds each." 

We highly recommend to those about to engage In 
butter or cheese making at the South, that they obtain a 
copy of the valuable bulletin referred to above, which is full 
of valuable information in regard to suitable breeds, and the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 361 

best foods and methods to be used in producing butter and 
cheese in the Southern States. 

TO KEEP BUTTER HARD AND COOL. 

A writer in the Scientific American recommends to the 
ladies a very simple arrangement for keeping butter nice and 
cool in the hottest weather. Procure a large neiv flower pot 
of the common nnglazed earthenware kind of sufficient size 
to cover the butter plate, and also a saucer large enough for 
the flower pot to rest in upside down ; place in the saucer 
three or four even sized pebbles, say of an inch in diameter, 
and upon these put the plate of butter; now fill the saucer 
with water, and turn the flower pot over the butter, so that 
its edge will be below the water. The hole in the fiower pot 
must be fitted with a cork; the butter will then be in what 
we may call an air-tight chamber. Let the whole of the 
outside of the flower pot be then thoroughly drenched with 
water, and place it in as cool a place as you can. If this be 
done over night, the butter will be as "firm as a rock" at 
breakfast time; or, if placed there in the morning, the butter 
will be quite hard for use at tea hour. The reason of this 
is, that when water evaporates it produces cold; the porous 
pot draws up the water, which in warm weather quickly 
evaporates from the sides, and thus cools it; and as no 
warm air can now get at the butter, it becomes firm and cool 
in the hottest day. 

POULTRY RAISING. 

It is a well known fact that young broiling chickens can 
be had at the South in any month of the year, witJi proper 
care aitd preparation . 

With our short, mild winters many of our farmers take 
it for granted nothing need be done, fowls will take care of 



362 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

themselves, irregular feeding or no feeding at all; merely 
letting the birds pick up their own living around the barn 
and in the fields, with perhaps a few ears of corn when 
somebody happens to think of it, is all that is necessary, 
eggs will be produced plentifully and the fowls will get along 
somehow through the winter. 

It is a noticeable fact, however, that with such treat- 
ment as this, letting the chickens get such a living as they 
may be able to do, and roosting in any convenient or incon- 
venient tree or shed they may find, very few eggs are pro- 
duced in the winter months, the very time when eggs are 
most in demand and bear the highest price. 

Now that farmers have been driven by the low price of 
cotton to find some other paying crop, and the corn yield of 
the South has been doubled, furnishing ample food reserve 
for all kinds of live stock, the laying hen and the setting hen 
are factors that should not be overlooked. 

The first point is to have comfortable quarters for the 
fowls winter and summer, dry days and wet days, and good 
sheltered roosting places. To secure these, sheds must be 
built, not necessarily expensive ones, but they should be 
roomy and dry. The roof may be thatched with straw if 
you choose, and the sides covered with boards nailed up and 
down; and alongside of each roosting shed should be an 
open, roofed yard, facing the south, and inclosed with 
pickets or woven wire on the front, and boarded up on the 
back and the side opposite the roosting shed. Here on 
cold, raw, windy, rainy or snowy days the fowls will be pro- 
tected, and can scratch and get the exercise they need. 

An ample supply of clean drinking water must be pro- 
vided, also plenty of sand, ashes, cinders or charcoal and lime. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 363 

But all these will not secure a regular supply of eggs if you 
go no further. One of the main questions is that of diet. 
Corn alone is not the best food ; it is a fat producer and if 
you wish to fatten pullets or chickens for market, use corn 
freely, but corn will not conduce to the laying of eggs; soft 
foods, such as bran or corn meal, wet up with water, or 
scalded or soaked oats, wheat, barley or rye should be the 
standard foods if you wish eggs. 

In connection with these a ration of ground bone should 
be given daily; as also a small amount of green red peppers 
twice a week, the small, more pungent variety being much 
better than the large bull nosed sort, for fowls. Refuse meat 
from butcher shops, or scraps from the kitchen cooked with 
a little ground red pepper and some bran orcornmeal, given 
to them quite warm at night, will be found of great advantage. 
Under this treatment the yield of eggs will certainly increase 
from only two or three eggs from twenty fowls to as many as 
ten to fifteen per day, regularly throughout the winter. 

To provide ground bone, a bone mill or crusher must be 
bought; a small hand mill made for this purpose can be 
obtained of any of the leading seed or implement dealers. 
Mann's Bone Cutter, costing $5 and upward, according to 
size, is probably as good as any. 

Let us recapitulate, then : comfortable roosting places 
and a covered yard where the fowls can be protected in 
snowy or rainy days from the weather, soft, warm food, 
ground bone, red pepper, lime, ashes and plenty of pure 
water, and it is better to have that warm in cold weather, 
will not only conduce to the health of your chickens, but 
insure you an ample supply of eggs in the winter months. 
The extra expense incurred is small and the trouble well paid 



364 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

for, the price of eggs often running up to 25 or 35 cents per 
dozen in cities and larger towns in December, just before the 
holidays. 

If you design to keep a large number of chickens, it will 
be necessary to build several of the roosting houses and cov- 
ered yards described above, and it will be economical to 
build them in a row so that the wall of each house will be the 
side of the adjoining yard. 

In one corner of each yard, place an open box of dry 
ashes, in which the fowls may wallow and dust themselves,, 
and an occasional going over of the perches with coal oil will 
be found helpful in keeping away lice. Give them also a 
little pulverized copperas, say a teaspoonful to twenty hens,, 
in their food, every other day for six days (that is to say, 
three doses a day apart) ; copperas is only sulphate of iron 
(sulphur and iron), will not injure the fowls otherwise, and 
is an excellent lice destroyer. 

TO KEEP EGGS FRESH FOR HOME USE. 
Be sure to have the eggs fresh ; put two or three dozen 
in a colander, pour boiling water over them, and as soon as 
they are dry, roll each one in a paper, as lemons are put up^ 
and stand them on the small end. Keep them in a cool, dry 
place where they will not freeze, and although put away in 
midsummer, they will be found as fresh as newly laid ones all 
through the following winter. 

TO TELL THE SEX OF EGGS. 
Eggs that will produce males are wrinkled upon their 
smaller ends; those producing females are smooth. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 365 

EMBDEN AND OTHER GEESE. 

The Embden or Bremen geese were first imported from 
Bremen in the year 1820, by Colonel Samuel Jacques, of 
Massachusetts. In 1826, James Sisson, of Rhode Island, 
hearing that a superior breed of geese was not uncommon in 
the North of Germany, and not knowing that they had been 
brought to this country, made another importation. They 
have been kept pure, and we have no hesitation in saying 
that for size, beauty, hardihood, quality of flesh, and desir- 
able habits, the Bremen geese are the best of all the goose 
family. Beyond their great size, and the uniform clear white 
of their plumage, we are at a loss for any sign of a specific 
difference between these and the common goose. In figure 
they are alike, and the bill and legs are of the same brick- 
dust hue; the permanency of these advantages, however 
{that we have just alluded to) , may justify our speaking of 
them as a sub-variety. 

One of their great advantages is this, that all the feathers 
being perfectly white, their value, where many are kept, is 
far greater in the market than is ever the case with "mixed" 
feathers. In weight, too, these birds have great advantage 
over the common goose. All white poultry, again, are con- 
sidered to "dress" — that is, to pluck, of a clearer and better 
appearance than colored birds. 

As quality of flesh, combined with weight, is a main 
consideration, we wish to mention, regarding the former, that 
the flesh of the Bremen (Embden) goose is very different 
from that of any of our domestic varieties. It does not par- 
take of that dry character which belongs to the other and 
more common kinds, but is as tender and juicy as the flesh 
of a wild fowl ; besides, it shrinks less in the process of cook- 



366 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

ing than that of any other fowl. Some of the keenest epicures 
have declared that the flesh of the Bremen (Embden) goose 
is equal, if not superior, to that of the Canvas-back duck. 
There is assuredly some comfort, not uncombined with ease, 
in carving a bird that weighs 17 pounds. 

The quality of the flesh of the Embden geese is equal in 
flavor to the famous Toulouse of France. The Embden is 
the earliest layer, and frequently rears two broods in one 
season, the young ones proving as hardy as any other. The 
Embden goose has prominent blue eyes, is remarkably strong 
in the neck, and the feathers, from near the shoulder to the 
head, are far more curled than is generally seen in other 
birds. 

The quiet, domestic character of the Embden geese 
causes them to lay on flesh rapidly; they never stray from 
their home, the nearest pond and field satisfying their wants, 
and much of their time is spent in a state of quiet repose. 

When first hatched, the goslings are of a very delicate 
and tender constitution. The best plan is to let them remain 
in the box in which they are hatched for twenty-four hours 
after they leave the shell ; but if the weather is fair and warm, 
may tolerate the letting the goslings out an hour or two in 
the middle of the day, when they may wet their little bills, 
and nibble at the grass. They ought not to be out in the 
rain at any time during the first month. A shallow pool dug 
in the yard, with a bucket or two of water thrown into it, to 
suit the temporary purpose of bathing, is sufficient during 
the period named. 

The climate of the South is eminently favorable for the 
raising of all kinds of domestic fowls, chickens, ducks, tur- 
keys and geese. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 367 

The latter do especially well here, and a great supply of 
water is not indispensable to their well-being. They are 
very cheaply raised, and can be turned out into a lane, pas- 
ture, or the highway every day, and will get their own living. 
Such care of the young goslings as is recommended above, 
however, is necessary at breeding time. 




Part Vn. 

^ Health Matters, ^ 

Recipes^ Tables, Etc. 
A FEW REMARKS ABOUT HEALTH AT THE SOUTH. 



^^I^HE healthfulness of this part of the 
country has been very much maligned 
and misrepresented. After extended 
travel in every part of the South, and 
a residence here of over twenty-five 
years, preceded by about the same 
time in different Northern States, the writer deems himself 
competent to judge and speak advisedly upon this subject. 
For young children we doubt if there is anywhere a 
climate more healthful. A temperature scarcely ever rang- 
ing higher than 90 degrees in the hottest part of the summer, 
nor lower than zero on any day of the short winters, a climate 
equable and enjoyable, so much so that there are few days 
out of the entire year so inclement that a young, delicate 
child cannot play out of doors, or a mechanic or farmer work 







AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 369 

in the open air, is certainly not an unhealthy one, unless cer- 
tain other great drawbacks exist, which certainly is not the 
case. 

The one great bugbear held up to frighten the man who 
thinks of emigrating South is malaria. It is useless to deny 
that there is some of this here, but so there is in New York, 
New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and 
Wisconsin, in places, but people go there and live there hap- 
pily all the same, and so they can and do, all over the South, 
One can keep as free or freer from the effects of malaria 
living in most parts of the South, than they can from con- 
sumption in some parts of the North, and whenever an 
attack does come it is easily controlled and cured. 

The fact is that life at the South is a joy and delight the 
whole year round, the records of the United States Signal 
Service showing, that the heat of summer is not so great as 
at the North, nor the cold of winter anything like as severe, 
while the health statistics of the United States army show 
that at the army posts in the South where troops have been 
stationed, the health rate is higher and the death rate lower 
than the average of other points in the Union. 

ACCLIMATIZATION. 
There is however, such a thing as becoming used, or 
acclimated to the climate, or perhaps we should say climates, 
of the South, for this country with its wide extent of territory 
has several distinct climates. There are also some precau- 
tions it is well to take here, especially during the summer 
months. The first we notice is that it is not well to sleep at 
night where strong draughts of air sweep over the bed. The 
nights at the South are almost always cool in summer, some- 

P 24 



370 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

times positively cold. They may not be so at sundown, but 
before morning the mercury drops 20 to 25 degrees as a 
breeze comes in from the Southwest or West, At 8 or 9 
o'clock as the tired farmer goes to bed, the air is warm and 
summer-like, and he goes to sleep with all the windows and 
doors open, and scarcely any bed-clothing at all over him. 
The breeze from the Gulf region begins to blow about 10 
o'clock, and from about 12 to 4 a. m. the cold increases until 
a chill has crept over the body of the sleeper, the pores are 
closed, malarial poisoning has begun. This is the time then 
to be guarded ; the danger of disease is not so much in the 
daytime, as at night, at the South. See to it then that win- 
dows facing the direction from which the wind blows are 
closed. Provide extra cover to add to the bed-clothing. See 
that the children are covered well and comfortably. Do not 
be allured by the delightful fanning of the evening breeze and 
go to sleep with it blowing over you. It is better to shut the 
windows, and suffer a trifle from heat at first, than to have 
disease fastened upon you by your negligence. 

We do not question but that the immunity of the ne- 
groes from disease at the South results from their cabins hav- 
ing tight shutters which are closed at night and keep out the 
night air, and the further fact that their sleeping rooms hav- 
ing fireplaces where the cooking is done during the day and 
a little fire kept all night, the temperature is kept at a 
more even point. 

Perhaps the writer may be thought to be a crank upon 
this subject, yet he would stoutly maintain from his own ex- 
perience, that to exposure to night air in bed, and to the fact 
of the rapid lowering of temperature after dark, the ailments 
that are charged to the Southern climate are due, and they 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 371 

can readily be avoided by close attention to the precautions 
we have suggested. 

Speaking generally, all kinds of diseases at the South 
are of a mild type and few ever attain an epidemic character.; 
Fevers are light, usually yielding readily to medicine, and 
are rarely fatal ; diphtheria and scarlatina are rare and not 
the dreaded scourges they are at the North. There are some- 
times cases of pneumonia and pleurisy, but not as many or 
as severe as in other parts of the country. These points are 
strongly substantiated by the testimony of our leading phy- 
sicians. The fact is, that for healthfulness, the South aver- 
ages well with any other part of the United States. 

CHILLS AND FEVER. 

Remedy No. i . — The thing to do with this disease, is 
always to take it in time, never to let it get fastened upon 
you. 

As soon as the first chill appears, or the first symptom of 
one, such as pains shooting through the head, or a "shaky" 
or dull feeling in it, or pains in the back or loins, with a gen- 
eral tired feeling, take 2 grains of quinine when you have no 
fever, and repeat this at intervals of two hours, until from 12 
to 24 grains have been taken. If fever rises, stop taking the 
quinine until the fever is entirely gone. At night take one- 
third to one-half teaspoonful of tincture of May-apple root 
{Podophyllum peltaticni') , which will act upon the liver simi- 
larly to calomel, but without its dangerous effects. If this 
does not cause a gentle action of the bowels, repeat the dose; 
it is drastic and griping if taken in large quantities. 

As is well known, chills and fever is a periodical disease, 
usually recurring on each seventh day after the first chill. It 



372 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

is well, therefore, to take a few doses of quinine and a little 
of the extract of May-apple on the day in each case preced- 
ing the "chill day." This may not be absolutely necessary, 
but it is well to be on the safe side. The thing to do is to 
break up the disease thoroughly just as soon as it appears. 

FOR A VERY BAD CASE. 

Recipe 2 — For a stubborn case of fever and ague, which 
other remedies have failed to cure, the following is recom- 
mended : Quinine 20 grains, Dover's powders 10 grains, 
subcarbonate of iron 10 grains. Mix with mucilage of gum 
arable and make into twenty pills. Dose two each hour, 
commencing five hours before the chill is due. Then take 
one each night and morning until twenty more are taken. 

FOR YOUNG CHILDREN HAVING CHILLS AND FEVER. 
Recipe j — Put 5 or 6 grains of quinine in a 2-ounce 
bottle, add one tablespoonful white sugar and sufificient 
licorice to hide the taste of the quinine and fill the bottle 
with water. Dose a teaspoonful each hour, commencing 
five hours before the chill is due, remembering that each 
chill comes one hour earlier than the one of the day before 
in chill? and fever. After ten doses are taken, give a tea- 
spoonful every morning before breakfast and at night a 
quarter teaspoonful of extract May-apple, prepared as di- 
rected on page 373. 

FEVER AND AGUE CURE WITHOUT QUININE. 
Recipe ^ — Take fresh mandrake (May-apple) root, just 
dug from the ground, and squeeze from it i^ tablespoon- 
fuls of juice, mix with the same quantity of molasses and 
divide into three doses, taking one each five, three and one 
hour before the chill. This may cause nausea, but is said to 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 373 

be very successful as a cure, very rarely needing to be 
repeated. 

This should be followed by a strong tea of dogwood 
bark, taken freely and regularly every day, for about ten to 
fourteen days. 

TO PREPARE TINCTURE OF MAY-APPLE FOR USE IN RE- 
CEIPTS NOS. J AND 3. 

Dig the roots in the spring of the year, when the flow- 
ers are on the plants, as at that time you can readily find 
and distinguish it. 

It grows generally in low grassy places, and dies down 
completely in the summer, when it is hard to find. The 
root is the part used. It should be washed clean, and the 
moisture all dried out of it until it is brittle, then break it 
up and put it in a bottle, covering it either with whisky or 
alcohol diluted one-half with water. When well steeped the 
tincture will be ready for use. No person living in a malarial 
region should ever be without a supply of this medicine. A 
very small quantity, however, of the tincture is required for 
a dose. If taken in too large quantities, or too often, it 
might produce bloody dysentery or other serious disease, as 
it is quite drastic; but taken in moderately small doses its 
work is quiet and very beneficial. It is not remarkably un- 
pleasant to take. 

POKE ROOT FOR FELONS, SORENESS OF THE 
LUNGS, ETC. 

For curing a felon or run-around, we have never found 
anything to work so like a charm as poke root. Take a 
good-sized piece of the root, bake it in the oven just as you 



374 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

would a sweet potato, scrape it and bind it on to the ailing 
finger, and relief comes soon ; the felon goes away. 

This application should be made just as soon as the 
finger becomes sore and you suspect a felon is coming, but 
if you have delayed it until the felon is well under way, the 
poke root will be found to give great relief and hasten the 
recovery. If the poke root cannot be obtained, a cornmeal 
poultice, wet up with extract of Phytolacca (poke root), 
which can be had at any drug store, will answer the purpose 
nearly as well. 

Extract of poke root taken internally in very small doses 
is an excellent remedy for loose influenza, colds and affec- 
tions of the throat, such as diphtheria, glandular swellings, 
etc., in human beings, or given in proportionately larger 
doses to horses or dogs in epizootic or distemper. It should 
always be kept on hand by the farmer in the form of an ex- 
tract, which is prepared by digging and drying the roots in 
an open stove oven until all the watery part is dried out, 
then cutting them up and putting them into a bottle and 
turning on sufficient alcohol, reduced with water one-half, or 
whisky, to cover the chips. 

The extract of the black ripe berries of this plant gath- 
ered after the frost has touched them, is highly recommended 
as a remedy for chronic rheumatism. A dose is three or 
four drops in half a teaspoonful of water, taken three or four 
times a day. • 

CURE FOR RATTLESNAKE BITES, ETC. 

We find the following in a periodical, and think it well 
worth trying. 

"The value of earth as a disinfectant and deodorizer is 
well known, and the treatment of ulcerated sores and gan- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 375 

grenous wounds with it is becoming general. A new appli- 
cation has lately been made as follows : Clay as a dressing 
in cases of confluent smallpox (the meaning of confluent is 
running together and forming a general sore), dusting the 
face of the patient over with clay powdered fine as soon as 
the pustules are fairly developed. This forms a clear, dry 
and wholesome scab, absorbing the infectious material, and 
leaving the underlying skin in its natural and normal state. 
The painful itching was entirely abated. The earth used was 
fine pipe clay. In the case of rattlesnake bites it is invalu- 
able. As the season of bites of reptiles is at hand I send you 
the following simple remedy. It is a plaster of clay, or in- 
stead of clay of common swamp or gutter mud, applied as 
soon as possible to the wound. I have tried it on myself. I 
was stung by a numerous swarm of yellow hornets about my 
neck and face, my sight being badly affected. I went imme- 
diately to a swamp near by and applied the mud from it and 
in half an hour I went to mowing again, the swelling having 
subsided. I knew a neighbor who was bitten by a rattle- 
snake some miles from home ; his companion left him and 
went for help as soon as possible. It being just before night 
he was not able to return until morning. When going back 
he met the man returning, with the poison conquered. He 
had got to a swamp, dug a hole and inserted and buried the 
bitten place in the mud, that was all, and was saved." 

TO KEEP HANDS AND FINGERS FROM CHAPPING AND 
CRACKING IN COLD WEATHER. 

Buy a dime's worth of glycerine from the drug store. 
Wash and soak your hands well with good soap (that made 
with cocoanut oil is cheap and good), and warm water; then, 



376 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

before washing off quite all of the soap, pour on to your 

fingers a few drops of the glycerine, sprinkle on a little water 

so the glycerine will not be of full strength, and rub it in 

well, drying your hands before the fire, leaving the soap and 

glycerine to dry in, not wiping it off upon a towel. The best 

time to do this is at night, just before going to bed, but any 

time will do, in fact two or three applications a day should 

be made until the skin is softened and the cracks disappear. 

This treatment will give great relief, and in a day or 

two your skin will be soft and pliable, healed as no other 

treatment will heal it. However, if you prefer an ointment, 

the following is an excellent one, and may be used either in 

connection with the foregoing or alone. The two together 

will give immense relief the very first day applied, and cure 

entirely the worst case of chapped hands and fingers, in a 

week. 

OINTMENT FOR CHAPPED HANDS, LIPS, Etc. 

Take 5 drams of camphor gum, 3 drams white bees- 
wax, 2 drams spermaceti, 2 ounces olive oil — put them to- 
gether in a cup upon the stove where they will melt slowly, 
and form a white ointment in a few minutes. If the hands 
be affected, annoint them on going to bed, and put on a pair 
of gloves. A day or two will sufifice to heal them. 

TO TRAP RABBITS. 

Take weather beaten boards (new ones, being whiter, 
are more likely to scare the rabbits), four pieces 28 inches 
long, 8 inches wide. Nail the top and bottom pieces onto 
the side pieces so that the box is, say 6 inches wide by 8 in- 
ches high inside measurement. Close the back end by nailing 
on a piece of board ; then bore two three-fourths or i inch 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 377 

auger holes through the top of the box, one 8 inches from 
the front, and the other lo inches from the back ends, and 
fit a stick about an inch in diameter and i6 inches tall, with a 
crotch at the top in the forward hole. Next cut a square or 
rather rectangular hole or slot through the upper board at 
the front or open end of the trap through which the door 
shall drop to catch the rabbit. 

Another way is to let the top board be say 2 inches 
shorter than the bottom and sides and form the slot or open- 
ing by nailing on a cleat an inch wide across the top of the 
side boards at their extreme front ends. In either case slats 
should be also nailed up and down on the inner side of the 
side pieces outside the door, to prevent the rabbits pushing 
the door outward and escaping. 

Now rig a stick, say half an inch in diameter, and about 
18 inches long, tying a string to each end, attaching the trap 
door (size say 5^ x 11 x i inches) to one end and a 
piece of stick (a sliver from a shingle will do very well) say 
one-half an inch in diameter, and 12 inches long, to the 
other, the string being tied to one end of the stick, and the 
other stuck down into the back auger hole, in the top board 
and having a notch cut in it so that it can be hooked onto 
the under foreside of the top board sticking down through it 
some 4 or 5 inches. The long stick is now rested in the 
crotch of the perpendicular stick that was placed in the for- 
ward hole, and the strings being adjusted to the right length, 
they hold up the trap door until the rabbit entering the box 
to explore it and see what a snug, warm place it is to sleep 
in, pushes off the stick from its hold upon the under side of 
the box cover, and the weight of the trap door causes it to 
fall and shuts Mr. Rabbit in. 



378 



SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 




Mm;:;;;::, '!:!;' 



liMllI 



Remarks. — Do not have your trap too wide or the door- 
way too wide, the dimensions given are about right. Make 
it neat, tight, warm and comfortable. Set it with its door to 
the east or south, so that the cold winds cannot blow into it. 
You need not put any bait in, the rabbit will go into it just 
as well without bait as with. Set it near or in the customary 
haunts of the rabbits. Moonlight nights are the best, as rab- 
bits always have fine gambols on such nights. Blacken the 
strings with ink or blacking, as rabbits are afraid of anything 
white. Perhaps a few cabbage leaves or turnip tops thrown 
in may be an advantage but we catch them readily with no 
bait at all. November i to March i rabbits are in season; 
during the summer their flesh is said to be "woolly." When 
in season they will be found excellent eating. 

When the trap is sprung lift the trap door carefully a 
little way, put in your arm and pull "Bre'r Rabbit" out. 

Do not move your trap around much, let it stay in one 
place a long time, so the rabbits will get used to seeing it 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 379 

there. When you have caught the first one you are pretty 
sure to catch others in that trap, 

TO KEEP RABBITS FROM TREES. 

Wrap the stems to the height of 4 feet with thick paper, 
or wash the trees with a thick whitewash in which is mixed 
flower of sulphur and an ounce of carbolic acid in each bucket- 
ful of the wash, and rabbits will let the trees alone. Do not 
daub them with axle grease, or you will find the trees dead 
in the spring. 

TRAPPING MINK AND OTHER ANIMALS. 

In hunting their prey, such as mice and other "small 
"deer," minks usually go along the side of streams instead of 
in the water and choose the brooks and rivulets, rather than 
the large water courses ; a place where there is a thick 
growth of grass is a favorite haunt for them. 

An excellent place to trap them is near where a little 
shallow brook empties into a larger one. Here, right in the 
course of the small stream drive down sticks or poles in the 
form of an /\ with the top of the /\ pointing up stream, 
forming thus a little pen with its open side toward the larger 
stream. Here, just at the mouth of this pen set, in the 
shallow water, a steel-trap without any bait upon it. The 
bait, which may consist of a piece of fish, chicken, chicken's 
head, or other fresh meat, should be placed in the far end of 
the pen (in the upper angle of the /\ as it were) so that the 
animal will be obliged to step over the trap to reach it, and 
will be almost certain to spring it and get caught. The 
object in putting the bait beyond the trap is to lead the 
animal's attention from the trap and not to it. 



380 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

Minks should not be caught in the South earlier than 
the middle of November, and later than this, in the coldest 
winter weather is preferable, as the fur not only of minks, 
but of all other fur bearing animals, is much^ heavier and 
better in the winter. 

We omitted to say above that the trap should be chained 
to a stout sapling or stake driven very firmly into the ground 
at a point down the stream away from the trap and bait. 

TO MAKE FISH BITE. 

Mix the juice of loveage or smellage with any kind of 
bait, or put on a few drops of oil of rhodium. These will be 
found effectual, as fish are very fond of them. 

TO KILL RATS. 

Flour I pound, water sufficient to form a thick paste, then 
mix one-third ounce phosphorus in one-half ounce butter, 
warming them if too stiff, and mix with the paste. This 
should be spread on bread or made in balls and covered with 
sugar. If you wish to make this article to sell, you can dis- 
guise its composition by working into it pulverized tumeric. 
Or take warm water, one tumblerful ; lard, one-quarter pound ; 
phosphorus, one-quarter ounce, mix and thicken with flour. 
Make it up in these proportions in small quantities, as phos-- 
phorus loses its power by exposure. 

TO KILL OLD SMART RATS. 

Some old rats are so sly they will not touch the above, 
then take a few grains of strychnine and a little fresh, lean, 
broiled meat; cut the meat into small pieces, using a fork ta 
hold it, for if held by the fingers the rats will smell them and 
not eat it. Cut the meat with a sharp penknife, and making 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 381 

a small hole in the pieces insert a little of the strychnine and 
close up the holes again. Put these on a plate, but not too 
near the hole or they will become suspicious. It is well also 
to cover the plate with a piece of paper to make the rat think 
it is not intended for him. 

TO DRIVE RATS AWAY. 
Take pulverized caustic potash, which can be bought of 
almost any grocer for lo cents per can, and put it into all 
their holes about the house, it becomes soft and pasty from 
the dampness in the air, and the rats will leave the premises 
rather than have this get on their feet or bodies. 

TO KILL RATS RIGHT WHERE THEY EAT THE POISON. 

Mix 2 ounces carbonate of barytes with i pound of 
grease. This produces thirst. Set a pan of water close by 
the poison and they will drink and die right there. This is 
a deadly poison, and care should be taken that no other ani- 
mal gets any of it. 



Dy( 



We are of course well aware that the customary way of 
dyeing small quantities of goods is with the prepared pack- 
age dyes sold by druggists ; and these do very well where 
there is only a small amount of material to color; but some- 
times, as in the case of dyeing carpet rags or men's clothing, 
it will be found too expensive to use the package dyes ; and 
so we give here the methods and formulas used by profes- 
sional dyers, or by our grandmothers in the old days of the 
spinning wheel and the hand loom. 



382 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

HINTS ON DYEING. 

1. Wash the article to be dyed thoroughly, with soap 
and warm water, and rinse perfectly clean. 

2. Dip the article into warm water again just before 
putting it into the alum or other mordant preparation, this 
prevents its spotting. 

3. In dyeing always use soft water. 

4. After an article has been dyed it should be aired 
awhile, then rinsed and dried, pulling it out or ironing when 
nearly dry to prevent wrinkling. 

5. Do not wring merino or silk goods, as this causes 
them to wrinkle and break. 

6. Whenever you make a dye with logwood chips, 
either boil the chips half an hour, and pour off the dye, or 
tie up the chips in a bag and boil with the goods ; or in the 
place of the logwood chips take 2^ ounces of extract of 
logwood for each pound of chips, which is generally the 
better plan and far less trouble. 

7. Remember, in judging of shades of color, that 
when damp in the dye, colors appear much darker than they 
do after the goods are dried out. 

8. To Make Extract of Indigo, or "C hemic," as it is 
called by dyers. Take oil of vitriol one-half pound, and stir into 
it 2 ounces of finely ground indigo, stirring it constantly for 
half an hour, then cover it over and stir it three or four times 
a day for two or three days ; then put in a small pinch of sal- 
eratus or soda and stir it up, and if it foams add more soda 
until the foaming ceases ; then put it in a glass bottle and 
cork it tightly. It improves by standing. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 383 

9. To Make Muriate of Tin. If the druggist in your 
neighborhood does not keep muriate of tin, you can make it 
yourself, as follows : 

Get at the tinner's shop a piece of block tin (solder will 
not answer) , put it in a shovel or iron ladle and melt it. After 
it is melted, pour it from the height of 4 or 5 feet into a 
bucket of water; the object of this is to have the tin in small 
particles, so that the acid can dissolve it. Take it out of the 
water and dry it, then put it into a strong glass bottle ; pour 
over it 12 ounces of muriatic acid, then slowly add 8 ounces 
of sulphuric acid; this should be added about a tablespoon- 
ful at a time, at intervals of from 5 to 8 minutes. If it is 
added too rapidly the heat evolved will be likely to break 
the bottle. After you have all the sulphuric acid in, and the 
heat and motion has subsided, put in a stopper of glass and 
beeswax, and it will be ready for use in twenty-four hours, 
or will keep for a year or more. 

COLORS. 

BLACK, FOR FIVE POUNDS OF GOODS. 

Recipe No. i . Blue vitriol 6 ounces; boil it in sufificient 
water to soak the goods a few minutes, then dip them in, and 
soak them three-quarters of an hour, lifting them out to air 
them occasionally. Take logwood, 3 pounds, boil it half an 
hour, then dip in the goods and soak them in the dye three- 
quarters of an hour, airing them occasionally. After giving 
them a long airing, say of an hour, dip them again and soak 
three-quarters of an hour longer, and wash in a strong suds 
and dry. The color will not crock or fade in the sun. 

BLACK, FOR WOOL OR WOOL AND COTTON GOODS. 

Recipe No. 2, For 10 pounds of goods, bichromate of 
potash 4 ounces, ground argal 3 ounces; boil them together 



384 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

and put in the goods, stir well and let them remain in the 
liquor four hours. Take out and rinse slightly in clear water ; 
then, in another vessel make a dye with 3^ pounds of log- 
wood; boil it an hour and add one pint of chamber lye and 
let the goods remain in all night, then rinse in clear water. 
DARK SNUFF BROWN, FOR CLOTH OR WOOL. 
For 5 pounds of goods i pound camwood ; boil it fifteen 
minutes; then put in the goods for half an hour; takeout 
the goods and add 2^ pounds of fustic, boil ten minutes 
and soak the goods three-quarters of an hour, then add blue 
vitriol, I ounce; copperas, 4 ounces; dip again half an hour. 
If not dark enough add more copperas. 

WINE COLOR. 

For 5 pounds of goods take camwood 2 pounds, boil 
fifteen minutes and dip the goods three-quarters of an hour, 
boil again and dip again half an hour, then add blue vitriol 
I Yi ounces, and if not dark enough add copperas half an 
ounce. 

MADDER RED. 

For 5 pounds of goods i ^ pounds of alum, cream of 
tartar 5 ounces, put in the goods and boil in the liquor half 
an hour, then take them out, air for an hour and then put 
them back and boil for half an hour longer ; then empty your 
kettle, fill it with clean water, put in a peck of bran, make it 
milk-warm and when the bran rises skim it off, add half a 
pound of madder, put in your goods, let it heat slowly and 
come to a boil, then wash in strong suds. 

OAK BARK GREEN. 

Make a strong yellow dye with equal quantities of oak 
and hickory barks, add extract of indigo, one tablespoonful 
at a time, until the desired shade is secured. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 385 

FUSTIC GREEN. 
For each pound of goods, fustic i pound, alum 3^ 
ounces, steep them together until the strength is out, then 
put the goods into the dye, and let them remain until a good 
yellow is obtained, then remove the chips, and add extract 
of indigo, one tablespoonful at a time, until the color suits. 

BLUE— QUICK PROCESS. 
For 2 pounds of goods take 5 ounces of alum and 3 
ounces cream tartar; add sufificient water to cover the goods 
and boil them in this for an hour, then remove the goods to 
a vessel containing warm water in which extract of indigo 
has been dissolved, more or less being used according to the 
depth of color desired, and boil them therein, adding more 
indigo if needed until the right color is obtained. This gives 
a good and permanent color. 

COCHINEAL SCARLET. 
For I pound of goods (yarn or cloth) take cream of 
tartar half an ounce, powdered cochineal half an ounce, 
muriate of tin 23^ ounces, boil all together, then put in the 
goods stirring them about in it briskly for ten or fifteen min- 
utes, then boil one and a half hours, stirring occasionally, 
slowly; then wash in clear water and dry in the shade. 

PINK. 

Take for 3 pounds of goods, alum 3 ounces, boil and dip 
the goods in the liquor one hour, then add 4 ounces of cream 
of tartar and i ounce of pulverized cochineal, boil them well 
together and while boiling dip in the goods until they are of 
the right shade. 

P2S 



386 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

ORANGE. 

For 5 pounds of goods, six tablespoonsful of muriate of 
tin and 4 ounces argal ; boil together, and as soon as it boils 
remove it from the fire and steep the goods in it for an hour, 
keeping it warm meanwhile; then add fustic 2^ pounds, 
boil ten minutes, and put in the goods for half an hour, and 
then add to the dye one teacup of madder; heat it again 
and steep the goods half an hour or until the color is right. 
Cochineal used instead of the madder makes a much brighter 
color and should be used in small quantities until the desired 
color is obtained. 

LAC RED. 

For 5 pounds of goods take 10 ounces of argal, boil it 

a tew minutes, then mix pulverized lac i pound, muriate of 

tin I % pounds, in a separate vessel and let them steep two 

or three hours; then add half of the lac dye to the argal and 

steep the goods in it half an hour, then add the balance of 

the lac and steep the goods again an hour, keeping the goods 

at boiling heat until the last half hour when the dye may be 

cooled off. The goods should be aired occasionally all along 

through the process. 

PURPLE. 

For 5 pounds of goods take cream tartar 4 ounces, alum 
6 ounces, pulverized cochineal 2 ounces, muriate of tin half 
a teacupful. Boil together the cream of tartar, alum and tin, 
fifteen minutes, then put in the cochineal and boil five min- 
utes ; dip the goods two hours. Then make a new dye with 
4 ounces of alum, 6 ounces of Brazil wood, 14 ounces of log- 
wood, one teacup of muriate of tin, with a little extract of 
indigo. Work the goods in this until the desired color is 
secured. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 387 

SILVER DRAB, 
TO BE USED ON WHITE OR VERY LIGHT GOODS. 

For 5 pounds of goods one teaspoonful each of alum and 

pulverized, or ground, logwood. Boil well together, then 

dip in the goods one hour; if not dark enough add small 

quantities of alum and logwood until the desired shade is 

obtained, 

COLORS FOR COTTON GOODS. 

BLACK. 

For 5 pounds of goods, take of green sumach wood and 
bark together three (3) pounds, boil half an hour, and let 
the goods steep twelve hours, then dip in lime water half an 
hour, take them out, hang them up and let them drip an 
hour; then add to the sumach liquor eight (8) ounces of 
copperas, and dip another hour; then run them through the 
lime water again for fifteen minutes. 

Then prepare a logwood dye, using two and a half 
(2^) pounds of logwood, boiling it one hour, and soak the 
goods in it for three hours ; now add bichromate of potash 
two (2) ounces to this and steep the goods again one hour, 
then wash again in clear cold water and dry in the shade; 
this will give a permanent black. 

To prepare lime water to use in the dyeing of cotton 
goods as per the recipes given here put fresh quicklime into 
a bucket or tub, pour on water until it slakes, then fill up the 
tub with water, and when the chemical action is done, and 
the water is cold and clear, turn it off, and it is ready for use. 
Use one (i) pound of lime to the bucket full of water, or 
I Yz pounds for strong lime water. 



388 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

LIGHT BLUE, OR A GOOD BROWN, 
For three (3) pounds of goods, take of blue vitriol four 
(4) ounces and boil it a few minutes in sufficient water to 
cover the goods, then soak the goods therein three hours and 
finish by passing them through a strong lime water, being 
particular that all parts of the fabric are equally exposed to 
the lime water. This color can be changed to a beautiful 
shade of brown by putting the goods afterwards through a 
solution of prussiate of potash. 

BLUE, MADE WITH LOGWOOD. 
If the goods are new, always boil them first in a strong 
soapsuds or weak lye, and then rinse them thoroughly in 
clean water. Then, for five (5) pounds of cotton goods, or 
three (3) pounds of linen goods, take three-quarters (^) of 
a pound of bichromate of potash, with sufficient water to 
cover the goods ; then put in the goods, and let them steep two 
(2) hours, then take them out and rinse in clear water; next, 
make a dye with four (4) pounds of logwood ; heat this and 
let the goods steep in it for an hour; air the goods about 
twenty minutes, and put them back in the dye to stay, say 
three or four hours. When the dye is cold take out the 
goods, rinse them well and dry them. 

A CHEAP BLUE FOR CARPET RAGS, ETC. 

For five (5) pounds of rags take copperas, four (4) 
ounces, boil and immerse the goods for fifteen minutes, then 
dip in strong soap-suds, and back to the dye two or three 
times. Then in another vessel make another dye with prus- 
siate of potash, one (i) ounce; oil of vitriol, three table- 
spoonsful; boil the goods in this thirty (30) minutes, then 
rinse and dry. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 389 

GREEN. 

If the cotton is new, boil it first in weak lye, or strong 
soap-suds, to take out the starch, then rinse and dry it. Then 
dip it in ordinary indigo bluing water, such as is used in wash- 
ing clothes, only using more bluing and less water, so that the 
goods may have blue enough to make the green as dark as 
wished. Take out the goods and dry them. Then make a 
dye with three-quarters (^) of a pound of fustic and three 
(3) ounces of logwood to each pound of goods; boil this 
one hour, and when cool, so that the hand can be kept in it, 
put in the goods, moving it briskly about a few minutes in 
the liquor, then let it steep one hour, take it out and let it 
thoroughly drain. Then dissolve and add to the dye, for 
each pound of goods, half an ounce of blue vitriol, and dip 
the goods in another hour ; then wring them out and let them 
dry in the shade. By using more or less of the logwood and 
fustic any shade of green can be obtained. 

YELLOW. 

For five pounds of goods, take seven (7) ounces sugar 

of lead and immerse the goods for two (2) hours. Then 

make a new dye with four (4) ounces of bichromate of 

potash, dip in the goods until the proper shade is secured, 

wring out and dry. If it proves not yellow enough, repeat 

the operation. 

BRIGHT ORANGE. 

For five (5) pounds of goods take four (4) ounces 
sugar of lead, boil a few minutes, and when luke-warm put 
in the goods, letting it remain two (2) hours, airing occa- 
sionally; then wring out. Make a new dye with eight (8) 
ounces bichromate of potash, and madder two (2) ounces. 
Dip the goods in this until the right shade is secured. If 



390 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

the color should be too red, take off a small sample and dip 
it in lime water, when choice can be made of the original 
color, or that dipped in the lime water, 

RED. 
Take muriate of tin, three-quarters of a teacup, add suffi- 
cient water to cover the goods well, bring it to a boiling heat, 
then let the goods soak in it an hour, stirring frequently; 
take out the goods, empty the kettle, put in clean water and 
one (i) pound of nic-wood ; steeping it for half an hour 
at hand heat, then put in the goods, increasing the heat for 
one hour, but not bringing it to a boil ; then air the goods 
and dip an hour as before, and wash without using soap. 

CHEAP DYES MADE WITH MATERIALS THAT ARE 
ALWAYS ON HAND ON THE FARM. 

Why not use the materials that grow, or are to be had 
cheaply, on almost any farm in the South? 

No. I, for instance: A good black dye, for either 
wool or cotton, can be had by boiling sumach bobs, and 
adding a bit of copperas. 

No. 2, for bright yellow: Take hickory bark and alum. 

No. 3, for a good blue: By using bottle bluing, such 
as is used in washing clothes, having previously steeped the 
goods in warm water in which 5 ounces of alum and 3 ounces 
of cream tartar have been dissolved, a good blue color can be 
obtained. 

No. 4: A good green can be had by dipping the goods, 
colored yellow by No. 2 above, into the blue dye. 

No. 5, for lemon color: Use white clover blossoms and 
alum. 

No. 6: For silk or woolen goods (not cotton) use 
peach leaves and alum. This gives a clear yellow. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 391 

No. 7- Copperas alone, boiled in water, will give a 
bright orange, or with copperas and lime a good brown. 

By experimenting with other barks, woods and simple 
chemicals, it will be found that many other good colors can 
be produced at small expense. 

CEMENTS. 

CEMENT FOR QUEENSWARE, CHINA, ETC., WHICH WILL 
STAND HOT WATER. 

With a small camel's hair brush apply a small quantity 
of white carriage oil varnish. 

RUSSIAN ISIN-GLASS CEMENT. 
For china, glassware, statuary, etc. Dissolve Russian 
isin-glass in pure soft water, by soaking for twelve hours, after 
which apply with a brush as above. 

A CHEAP AND GOOD CEMENT. 
Take oyster shells (fresh water clam shells are just as 
good) and burn them, forming shell lime; pulverize this 
very fine; then as required for use, mix into a paste with the 
white of an egg. Burn the shells only as wanted for use as 
they air-slack just as other lime does. 

WATER PROOF CEMENT FOR LEATHER, BELTS, GLASS, 
CHINA, ETC. 

Ale or beer i pint, best Russian isin-glass 2 ounces ; put 
them into a glue kettle and boil until the isin-glass is dissolved, 
then add 4 ounces best common glue and dissolve it with the 
other, then add slowly ij4 ounces boiled linseed oil, stirring 
it all the time until well mixed. When cold it will resemble 
India rubber. When you wish to use this, dissolve what you 
need in a suitable quantity of ale to the consistence of thick 
glue. If you cannot get ale or beer, use good vinegar. If 



392 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER' S 

used on leather shave down the edges you wish to unite and 
apply the cement with a brush, always while hot, laying a 
weight upon the joint for six to ten hours until thoroughly dry. 

CEMENT FOR FURNITURE, ETC. 
To mend marble, wood, glass, china, etc. Water, one- 
third of a gallon; good glue, white is best for mending white 
ware, i pound, white lead ij^ ounces, whisky i quart. 
Mix by heating the glue in the water, remove from the fire 
and stir in the white lead, then add the whisky which will 
keep it liquid, excepting in the coldest weather. Warm and 
stir it before applying. 

WHITE CEMENT. 
White fish glue i pound lo ounces, dry white lead 6 
ounces, soft water 3 pints, alcohol i pint. Dissolve the glue 
in the water in a tin dish, setting this in another dish con- 
taining water to keep the glue from being scorched. When 
the glue is all dissolved add the white lead and stir an(j boil 
until thoroughly mixed ; then remove from the fire and when 
cool add the alcohol and bottle it while warm, and afterwards, 
keep well corked. 

IMITATION OF SPAULDING'S GLUE. 

First soak the glue you wish to use in cold water, then 
in a glue pot, the inner one being of earthern or porcelain, 
put it over the fire and let it simmer, then add a little nitric 
acid, sufiicient to give the glue a sour taste like vinegar, or 
say one-half ounce to i ounce to the pound of glue. The 
reason for using a porcelain dish to make it in, instead of iron 
or tin, is that metal would be corroded by the acid, making 
the glue black. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 393 

CEMENT FOR CANNING FRUIT. 

Rosin I pound, lard, tallow and beeswax, of each i 

ounce. Melt all together, stirring at the same time, and 

use hot. 

TANNING. 

TANNING DEER OR OTHER SKINS. 

Remove the tags and ends (useless parts), then soak 
the skins soft, remove all adhering fleshy or fatty substances, 
and soak in warm water an hour. Take oil vitriol, i ounce; 
salt, I pint; milk, 3 quarts, and mix these together. 

Dip the skin in warm rain water, to which 2 ounces sale- 
ratus, or sal-soda, or i ounce caustic lye, have been added, and 
work it well therein, say from five to ten minutes, until it is 
saturated with this liquid ; then wring it dry and immerse in 
the vitriol mixture for fifty minutes, stirring it constantly; 
then wring and soak it again in moderately warm water, 
and finally dry, working and pulling it until it is soft. 

TANNING FUR AND OTHER SKINS. 

Prepare the skins as in the above recipe; then, after 
they have been soaked in warm water for an hour, take for 
each pelt, borax, saltpetre and glauber salts, half an ounce of 
each, and mix with a little soft warm water. Apply this 
with a brush upon the flesh side of the skins, putting it on 
thickest upon the thicker and best parts. Then double the 
pelts together, flesh side in, keeping them in a cool place for 
twenty-four hours, but not where it is cold enough to freeze. 

Next, wash the skin clean and take sal-soda, i ounce; 
borax ^ ounce; good white soap, 2 ounces (or in these 
proportions if more is required), melt them slowly together, 
not allowing th»in to boil^ and apply to the flesh side with a 



394 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

brush, as above; roll up again and keep in a warm place for 
twenty-four hours. 

Again wash the skin clean as above, having 2 ounces 
of sal-soda dissolved in suflficient hot rain water to saturate 
the skin; then take alum, 4 ounces; salt, 8 ounces, and dis- 
solve also in hot water, and as soon as sufificiently cool, so 
that you can bear your hand in it, put in the skin for twelve 
hours, then wring out and hang up over night or until dry. 
Repeat this last soaking and drying as many times as may 
be necessary to secure the softness of the skin desired. 

Lastly, finish by pulling, working, etc., and finally by 
rubbing with a piece of pumice stone or fine sand paper upon 
the flesh side. 

FOR FUR SKINS. 

Another method. Weigh the dry skins before you com- 
mence operations, applying rancid butter or lard (any butter 
or lard will do), tramping the skins after they are well 
greased, in a tub, until they are oiled thoroughly. This 
process should take at least six hours. Take the skins out 
on to a block, table or smooth tree stump, and with a piece 
of hoop iron, scrape away all extraneous matter, fleshy parts, 
etc., from the grain (inner) surface of the pelt. Remove 
the grease by working the skin in very fine hardwood saw- 
dust. Do this near a fire, so that all may be warm; the 
fur should then be combed out with an ordinary dressing 
comb. Next, steep the furs for an hour in warm water, to 
which has been added for each pound of the dry skins, i 
pound each of bran, alum and salt; wring out and partially 
dry; then wash again in a strong, warm soap-suds in which 
about 2 ounces of pulverized sal-soda to a pound weight of 
dry skins have been dissolved. Wring out and rinse thor- 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 395 

oughly in warm water, and dry and work the skins until they 
are soft and pliable. 

TANNING DEER OR OTHER SKINS FOR MITTENS, 
GLOVES, ETC. 

For each skin the size of a medium deer skin take a 
bucketful (say lo quarts) of water and put in it i quart of 
quick lime; let the skins lie in it from three to four days, 
then rinse in clean water, remove the hair, scrape the flesh 
side clean, then soak them in cold water to get out the glue, 
and afterwards scour or pound them well in strong warm 
soap-suds for half an hour, after which take white vitriol (sul- 
phate of zinc) alum, and salt, one table-spoonful of each to a 
skin ; dissolve these in sufficient water to cover the skins, 
and let them soak in it for twenty-four hours. Now wring 
out as dry as may be, and spread on with a brush ^ pint of 
currier's oil, and hang in the sun about two days, after which 
scour out the oil with soap-suds and hang out again until per- 
fectly dry; then pull and work the skins until they are soft, 
and if in a reasonable time they do not prove soft, scour 
them out in suds again, as before, until they are so. The oil 
can be saved to be used again, by pouring or skimming it 
from the top of the soap-suds after it has stood awhile. The 
buff color is obtained by spreading yellow ochre over the sur- 
face, and rubbing it in well with a brush. 

TANNING DEER SKINS WITH ACID. 

After taking off the hair and preparing the skins as in the 
foregoing recipe, soaking and pounding in soapsuds, etc., 
in the place of white vitriol, alum and salt, take oil of vitriol 
(sulphuric acid) and water, equal quantities, and thoroughly 
wet the flesh side, of the skins with it, using a sponge or cloth 
tied upon a stick, then fold up the skins and let them lie for 



396 SOUTHERN farmer's, gardener's 

twenty minutes only , and have ready a solution of sal-soda, i 
pound to a bucket of water, and soak the skins in it for two 
hours, and then wash them in clean water, apply a little salt, 
and let them lie salted thus for about twelve hours; then re- 
move all remaining fleshy matter by scraping with a blunt 
knife and when dry or nearly so, soften by pulling and rub- 
bing with the hands and a piece of pumice stone, then apply 
yellow ochre, and brush it in well, to give the buff color. 

This is the quickest method of tanning skins, for gloves, 
etc., and if they are only kept in the acid liquor twenty min- 
utes the strength of the skin will not be impaired. 

TANNING CALF, KIP OR HARNESS LEATHER WITHOUT 
BARK, IN FROM SIX TO THIRTY DAYS. 

The skins must first be limed, haired and treated in every 
way as by the old process ; then put into a vessel containing 
sufficient water to cover them, adding i pint of a composi- 
tion made in the proportions for a 12-pound calf skin; of 
terra Japonica 3 pounds, common salt 2 pounds, alum i 
pound; these having been dissolved by boiling with sufficient 
water in a copper kettle ; the same proportions being used 
for a larger amount of skins. When this composition is 
added to the water as above, it should be well stirred in, 
and the same amount should be added every night and 
morning for three days, pouring off a portion of the old into 
a separate vessel each time on adding the new, and at last 
pouring in the whole. The skins should be "handled" each 
day in the liquor, so that all parts may be equally exposed. 
The liquor can be used over again on other skins by adding 
half the quantity each time, of new liquor, keeping the 
same proportions for any amounts, and if you wish the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 397 

leather to have the customary bark color, put in i pound of 
Sicily sumach. 

Kip skins by this process require about twenty days, and 
light horse hides thirty days, to make good leather; calf 
skins from six to ten days only. Japonica comes in large 
cakes of about 150 pounds, and sells at 4 cents per pound 
in New York City. 

The Canadians make four liquors in using the Japonica, 
using for the first liquor for twenty sides of upper leather 15 
pounds of Japonica in sufficient water to cover the skins. 

The second liquor contains the same amount of Japonica 
and 8 pounds of saltpetre. The third contains 20 pounds of 
japonica and 43^ pounds of alum, and the fourth liquor 
contains 15 pounds of Japonica and lyi pounds of sulphuric 
acid, the leather remaining four days in each liquor, but for 
sole leather the time and quantities are both doubled. Fifty 
calf skins are counted equal to twenty sides of upper leather, 
but let them lie in each liquor only three days. 

The Scientific American in an issue of many years ago 
has the following in regard to this or a similar process: 

"We have received from Edwin Daniels, of Elkhorn, 
Wis., a sample of calfskin ' upper leather,' tanned by a pro- 
cess for which a patent was issued to him on the 6th of Janu- 
ary last. It is well tanned, firm, yet soft and elastic. No 
bark was used in preparing it, and the inventor informs us 
that the outlay of buildings and fixtures is just about one- 
tenth that of tanning with bark, only one vat being required 
for every ton used in the common process. 

" Catechu (old terra Japonica) contains more tannin 
than any other substance employed in the manufacture of 
leather; hitherto, however, it has not been used for making 



398 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

the best qualities of leather, because it rendered the skins 
tanned by it brittle, and liable to crack. This defect has 
been overcome by Mr. Daniels, who employs it as the prin- 
cipal agent in his process, combined with the sulphate of 
aluminum, the nitrate of potash, and acid, by which the 
skins and hides are ' plumped ' in a high degree, and the 
tannin made to combine with the gelatine, in proper pro- 
portions to form soft and firm leather, susceptible of a fine fin- 
ish, free from brittleness, and not liable to crack. 

" Catechu comes to us from India in the form of a con- 
centrated crystallized extract ; it has simply to be dissolved 
in warm water, and is then ready for use. Considerable ma- 
chinery and apparatus, such as bark, mills, etc., required fo^ 
bark tanning, are unnecessary for this process." 

There is no patent now in force on the above process. 
Any one can use it freely. 

TO SALT BEEF TO KEEP A LONG TIME. 

First thoroughly rub salt into it, and let it lie twenty- 
four hours to draw off the blood. Have ready a pickle, pre- 
pared as follows: For every lOO pounds of beef use 7 
pounds of salt, one (i) ounce of saltpetre and cayenne pep- 
per, one (i) quart of molasses, and eight (8) gallons of 
soft water; boil and skim well and when cold pour over the 
beef and put a heavy, smooth stone on it to keep it down. 
Meat thus prepared will keep a year or more, by taking the 
brine off occasionally, scalding it and when cool pouring it 
back over the meat. 

FOR CURING, SMOKING AND KEEPING HAMS. 
Rub and sprinkle the hams with salt, pack them closely 
in a barrel and let them lie three days ; then turn off all the 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 399 

brine which has formed and cover them with a brine made as 
follows : Take water sufficient to cover, add salt until strong 
enough to bear up a sound egg, or a potato; then for 
twenty-five to thirty hams take one-fourth of a pound of salt- 
petre and I gallon of molasses (or lo pounds of brown 
sugar) ; let them remain in this brine six weeks. Then take 
them out and hang them up to drain ; then before they get 
fully dry, say in a few hours, rub the flesh side, and the end 
of the leg with a very finely pulverized black or red pepper, 
the pepper should be as fine as flour, and should be carefully 
applied so as to cover every fleshy part, then hang them up 
and smoke them, and they will keep perfectly in a cool 
place, such as a good smokehouse or any other cool, shady 
place, where rats cannot get them. They will be found ex- 
cellent eating. 

TO KEEP HAMS SWEET ALL THE FOLLOWING SUMMER. 
After curing them as above, pack them in barrels or 
boxes, and cover them with finely pulverized charcoal; they 
can be kept thus not only one year but two, or even three, 
if in a cool, dry place; in fact, it is stated that if they have 
been previously well dusted and covered with pepper, they 
will keep almost any length of time, if packed in well pul- 
verized charcoal, even though the weather may be hot and 
the flies thick as in Pharaoh's time. 

TO KEEP HAM IN SLICES A LONG TIME. 

A number of years ago the Rural New F(?;'/C'^r published 
the following, which is said by those who have tried it to be 
very effectual and excellent: 

" In the spring, cut the smoked ham in slices, fry until 
partly done, pack in a stone jar alternate layers of ham and 



400 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

gravy. If the ham should be very lean, use lard for gravy, 
but in that case be sure and fry the ham in the lard, so that 
it will be well seasoned. When wanted for use, take up and 
finish frying, and it is ready for the table." 

In this case the jars should be kept in a cool place or 
cellar, and a couple of thicknesses of clean cotton cloth put 
over the tops, before putting on the covers. 

Pork killed in the fall or early part of the winter, after 
salting it and letting it lie in pickle (salt) about eight or ten 
days, can be treated in this manner, and will, if sliced and 
packed away in its own gravy or lard as above, keep splen- 
didly until wanted for use. No bone should be put in, either 
of hams or pork. 

HOME MADE SOAPS. 
TO MAKE SOFT SOAP FOR WASHING CLOTHES, ETC. 

First, set up a leach barrel. This is done with an old 
flour or salt barrel ; bore a few holes in the bottom or just 
above the lower hoop; build a platform of boards on which 
to set the barrel, sloping these to the front so that this will 
be about 3 or 4 inches lower than the back, but be sure and 
have the front edges of the boards high enough from the 
ground so that you can set underneath a bucket or trough to 
catch the lye. It is well to have this platform double, so that 
all the lye will run down the boards and find its way to the 
trough. The barrel should also be set up near the well or 
spring so that you do not have far to carry the water. 

Place the barrel on the platform, put a few sticks of 
wood or large brush cris-cross at the bottom, put in a little 
straw and a few chunks of fresh stone lime and fill the barrel 
nearly full of fresh wood ashes; pour on water gradually, 
and save the lye in a tight barrel, and with this and grease 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 401 

about in the proportion of 2 pounds of grease to a gallon of 
good strong lye, make your soap either by the cold process, 
which is just to turn the lye on the grease in a barrel and let 
it stand until it "makes itself," or cook grease and lye 
together in an iron kettle. 

The lye when it runs first from the leach barrel will be 
of a coffee color, but at last will grow light colored and is of 
course weaker. When it thus shows that the strength of the 
ashes is gone, empty the barrel and put in fresh straw, lime 
and ashes as before. 

In making the soap, by cooking the lye and grease 
together in a kettle the strength of the lye is rapidly increased 
by the evaporation of the watery part of the lye, and by 
putting in the grease gradually you can ascertain just how 
much of the latter is required. No general rule can be given 
for the proportions of lye and grease, as this depends upon 
the strength of the lye. By cooking you can make the soap 
much quicker than by the cold method. When the soap is 
made it should be in a thick jelly, and will be found excellent 
for washing clothes and for general cleaning purposes ; but 
hard soaps are better and more convenient for toilet pur- 
poses. In a timber country where ashes are plentiful, and 
the farmer raises his own meat and has plenty of surplus 
grease, he should always in the winter time make his own 
soap, both soft and hard. Soft soap may be kept well in a 
fish or other tight barrel, or half barrel, covering it with a 
piece of cloth or sacking, and this with a board cover; this 
keeps out dirt, insects and rats; then store the barrel in your 
cellar, barn, smokehouse or kitchen, and by keeping it 

p 26 



402 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER's 

replenished your wife should always have plenty of good 
soap that has cost almost nothing. 

HARD SOAP, A GOOD ARTICLE. 

Take sal-soda and lard, of each 6 pounds, stone 
lime 3 pounds, soft water 4 gallons. Dissolve the lime 
and soda in the water by boiling; then let this settle, 
pour it off and return to the kettle, which should be either 
brass or copper; add the lard and boil until the soap is 
formed; then pour it into a dish or mould, and when cold 
cut it into bars, or cakes, and dry them. This will be found 
to be an excellent soap for any purpose, and especially so for 
toilet use, and is in fact a good shaving soap, as it does not 
irritate the skin, as ordinary soaps often do. It can be per- 
fumed with sassafras or other oils ; or a clean piece of sassa- 
fras root boiled in the water before the grease is added, will 
give it a pleasant odor ; or an extract of sassafras root can 
be made by using a little water, and this stirred into the 
soap just as it is cooling. 

WHITE HARD SOAP. 

Fresh quicklime, sal-soda and tallow, of each 4 pounds; 
dissolve the soda in 2 gallons of soft water; now mix 
in the lime, stirring it occasionally for a few hours; when it 
is cold and has settled, pour off the clear liquor, put in the 
tallow and boil until it is all dissolved, then turn it into a box 
or pan, and cut it into cakes or bars as you prefer. 

In making yellow soap, rosin is used with the tallow, in 
the proportion of one-third rosin to two-thirds tallow, the 
process being otherwise the same. 

Quicklime must always be used in soap making when 
either sal-soda or lye is used, to make them caustic, so that 
they will cut or "eat up" the tallow. In making soft soap any 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 403 

kind of grease can be used, pork grease, fresh or salt, etc., 
but in making hard soap, good tallow or lard is required. 

ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE SOFT SOAP. 

Take six (6) pounds of potash, four (4) pounds of lard, 
^ pound rosin; pulverize the rosin and mix all together, and 
set them aside for five days; then put the whole into a cask 
containing 10 gallons of warm water, and stir it twice a day 
for ten days, and you will find you have 100 pounds of ex- 
cellent soft soap. You can easily figure out what this will 
cost you, probably, counting the lard as worth 10 cents per 
pound, and the potash at the same price, about $1 ; or i 
cent a pound for the soap. 

GRAFTING WAX. 

Green, of Rochester, N. Y., has the following: 

Take 4 parts rosin, 2 parts tallow, 1% parts beeswax; 
melt all together and pour into cold water ; then work same 
as molasses candy. 

FOR ROOT GRAFTS. 

Four parts rosin, 2% parts tallow, three-fourths parts 
beeswax. 

Cole recommends "to apply a thin layer of composition 
covering the scion on the side and cleft in the stock, and a 
cap over the top of the stock, pressing it closely and tightly 
around the scion, to exclude the air and water; pressing it 
also closely on the top of the stock and into the cleft, and 
around the scion, at its junction with the stock." 

Sometimes strips of soft, old muslin are used, that have 
been soaked in melted grafting wax, and these are bound 
about the scion and over the top of stock which has been cut 



404 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

off ; and if any cavities or spaces are left, not covered by the 
strips, grafting wax is applied to fill them. 

SPRAYING RECIPES. 

For Fungous Growths, such as apple scab, bitter rot, leaf 
blight, or mildew, use for first spraying in the spring, before 
the leaves start, 

COPPER SULPHATE SOLUTION. 

Copper sulphate (blue stone) I pound. 

Water 25 gallons. 

The copper should be pulverized and mixed first in 
a little boiling water, and when completely dissolved, turned 
into a barrel containing the balance of the water. This is 
for the first spraying only, before the leaves are open. 
BORDEAUX MIXTURE. 

For second and third, or fourth sprayings: 

Sulphate of copper (blue stone) 6 pounds. 

Fresh (quick) lime 4 " 

Water 50 gallons. 

Dissolve the copper in 4 gallons of water, (after having 
pulverized it), in a tub or barrel. Then slake the lime with 
water in another barrel or wooden vessel, and strain it into 
the barrel containing the copper solution. Strain it carefully, 
so that the mixture may be perfectly smooth and fine, so as 
not to clog the sprayer ; then add the balance of the water. 

This is the great main reliance, in fighting all fungous 
diseases, whether on grape vines, fruit trees or small fruits. 
If you wish at the same time to destroy insects, such as 
apple worms, the codling moth, etc., add about a quarter of 
a pound of Paris green or London purple to the barrel, 50 
gallons, of the mixture. In spraying, where use is made of 
those two latter substances, care must be taken not to allow 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 405 

any animals to have access to the preparation, as both are 
arsenites and deadly poisons. For this reason also no trees 
or vines should be sprayed with them while in blossom, as 
they will kill the bees, who are the fruit raiser's best friends. 
Therefore see to it you do not use the arsenides either singly 
or in connection with fungicides until after the blossoms have 

fallen. 

If fresh (quick) lime cannot be had, 6 pounds of par- 
tially air slacked lime may be used, but the fresh lime is much 
preferable. In using Bordeaux mixture on peach or plum 
trees add one-third more lime (See also page 409)- 

AMMONIACAL SOLUTION OF COPPER CARBONATE. 

For late spraying, this is sometimes used: 

Copper carbonate 5 ounces. 

(Not the sulphate, as in the foregoing receipts, but the carbonate.^ 

Aqua ammonia 3 pi"ts. 

Water 45 gallons. 

Mix the copper with enough water to form a thin paste, 
then add the ammonia, and if this does not dissolve the paste 
add more water until dissolved, then add the remainder of 
the 45 gallons of water. Insecticides can be used with this, 
just the same as with the Bordeaux mixture above. 

INSECTICIDES. 

KEROSENE EMULSION. 

Kerosene 2 gallons. 

Common or whale oil soap X pound. 

Water ' g^"o"' 

Heat the water ; slice the soap thin, and dissolve thor- 
oughly in it ; then add this boiling hot to the kerosene, and 
churn the mixture by pumping it through a sprayer until a 
cream is formed (say for ten minutes). This to be diluted 
with water, a'S follows: 



406 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

If the water is hard or limy, add a little lye or bicarbonate 
of soda For scale insects dilute this emulsion with nine parts 
of water. For most all other insects dilute with fifteen parts of 
water. For plant lice and other small and soft insects, dilute 
with twenty-five parts of water. 

A milk emulsion, prepared with sour milk and soap, is 
produced by the same method as above, but is not as gen- 
erally used or liked. It soon ferments and spoils. 

TOBACCO SPRAYING MIXTURE. 

Tobacco, or stems of tobacco i pound. 

Water 2 gallons. 

Prepare by boiling the stems or refuse tobacco in the 
water, and apply by spraying. Said to be useful on cabbage, 
cucumbers and other young plants attacked by flea beetles 
and on house plants infested with aphides (plant lice), etc. 

CARBOLIC ACID WASH. 

Hard soap - i pound. 

Water 2 gallons. 

Crude carbolic acid i pint. 

Dissolve the soap in the boiling water and add the 
acid. 

This wash is used against scale and bark lice on trees; 
apply with a stiff brush. Also used to prevent borers from 
puncturing the bark to deposit their eggs. In this case apply 
with a cloth early in summer, and again in July. Apply to 
the trunks and lower limbs, but not to the foliage. 

WHITE HELLEBORE. 

A vegetable poison. Used either as a dry powder or 
with water. When used dry, mix the poison with four or 
five times its bulk of flour, and dust or sift over the plants. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 407 

With water use one heaping tablespoonful to 2 gallons 
of water. Keep the powder in an air-tight vessel as it loses 
strength by exposure. 

Used mostly for insects infecting small fruits, such as 
berries. 

ACETATE OF LEAD— SPRAYING MIXTURE. 

Acetate of lead " ounces. 

Arsenate of soda 4 

Molasses 2 quarts. 

Add the above to 150 gallons of water, mixed conven- 
iently in a hogshead. 

This mixture is lately introduced, to be used against 
biting insects, such as the codling moth, apple worm, etc. 
It is a very cheap insecticide, remains in suspension in the 
water and seems to have no bad results. It remains on 
foliage, etc., a long time, even after quite heavy rains, and 
so it would not be best to apply it late in the season when 
fruit is ripening. 

For the Colorado potato beetle three-fourths of a pound 
of the poisons combined, in the proportions given above, to 
150 gallons of water have proved effectual. 

MAKING VINEGAR. 
Any one who raises apples, peaches, berries or grapes, 
should own a screw press, to express the juice from such 
fruit as is not marketable, and from apple parings, cores, etc. 
This expressed juice should be put in a clean barrel laid on 
its side with the bung out, the bung hole being covered with 
a small piece of netting to keep out insects. This gives the 
start for vinegar making. Water and sugar, or molasses, in 
the proportion of 10 pounds of sugar or 2 gallons of molasses 
to 4 gallons of water, may be needed as a reinforcement. 



408 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

To make the vinegar stronger add more sugar or molasses. 
The best time to make vinegar is in warm spring and summer 
weather, and the best place is in a warm, dry room, shed or 
barn. It should not be allowed to freeze in the winter or 
the strength will be taken out of it. Once established it can 
be kept up permanently, by additions of juices or sweetened 
wafer, whenever it gets at all low in strength or quantity ; 
add to it always while there are several gallons left in the 
barrel. The bung should never be put into the barrel. If 
by evaporation the vinegar gets too strong, reduce with 
water. A faucet should be put in the lower part of the head 
so the vinegar can readily be drawn. 

CHEAP WHITE PAINT WITHOUT LEAD OR OIL. 

Freshly slacked lime, 2 ounces; whiting, 5 pounds; put 
the lime in a crock or bucket, pour upon it two quarts of 
skimmed milk and stir well, then stir in the whiting gradually. 
Thin as may be required, with water or skim milk. Colors 
may be added if desired. This wash gives a bright clear 
paint, like body, and will last for many years. 

NUMBER OF PLANTS AT A GIVEN DISTANCE, PER ACRE 

Rule — Multiply the distance between the rows by the 
distance between the plants in the row, which gives the num- 
ber of square feet occupied by each plant ; divide the product 
into the number of square feet in one acre (43,560), and 
the result will show the number of plants on an acre. 

Example — If cabbage plants are set in rows three feet 
apart and the plants two feet apart in the row, each plant 
will occupy three times two, or 6 square feet of surface. 
Hence, one acre will require as many plants as six is con- 
tained in 43,560, or 7,260 plants. 



AND FRUIT raiser's GUIDE. 409 

Notes and Comments* 

CRIMSON CLOVER. 

In regard to crimson clover (page 30), we find that when 
a spring sowing of this plant is followed by a dry spell in 
April and May, the growth is much retarded, and a failure 
may be looked for. It is therefore advisable here in the 
South to sow in the fall. Fall or winter sowings are un- 
doubtedly best in the South for most all grasses and clovers. 

DEEP PLANTING OF IRISH POTATOES. 

There are drawbacks in the deep planting of Irish pota- 
toes. (See page 90). It is an expensive mode. The deep 
trenching takes time, and time is money. Then the hauling 
of trash to cover with, involves considerable labor, while the 
digging of the crop out of the deep trenches is also expen- 
sive. It may be questioned whether increase of yield will 
pay for the extra work. Six to seven inches deep is prob- 
ably the best and most profitable depth at which to plant. 

CRAB GRASS AND COWPEAS FOR HAY. 

We wish to emphasize strongly the growing of this 
excellent combined hay crop as recommended on page 24. 
Handling land thus will transform millions of acres at the 
South into cattle and butter and cheese districts. We hope 
our farmers will not forget this superb means of supplying 
themselves with fodder at small expense. 

SPRAYING PEACH AND PLUM TREES. 

(Page 232) . We are assured by those who have had 
the most experience, that no harm comes to peach or plum 



410 SOUTHERN farmer's, GARDENER'S 

trees in the use of Paris green or London purple in connec- 
tion with Bordeaux mixture, even where 4 ounces of the 
poison are used to 50 gallons of mixture if the quantity of 
lime is increased to 6 pounds. The lime preventing the 
deleterious effect of the arsenite upon the foliage. 

To be handy for spraying, these trees should be trimmed 
back to low heads, letting this be done in winter or early 
spring, before sap rises. 

THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE. 

(See page 103.) Where the farmer is not provided with 
spraying pump, common garden watering pots will answer 
very well for potatoes. If your patch is large, and water not 
convenient, a great many worms can be killed by the use of 
dry Paris green, mixed with flour, dusted on early in the 
morning when the dew is on the plants. This is much easier 
than spraying, but not quite as effectual. 




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A Grand Neiftr Straiftrberry T 

Having originated and thoroughly tested it for several 
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Jiidsonia, Ark. 
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Binders '^ ^ 
Stationers 




CATALOGUE AND PAMPHLET WORK 
A SPECIALTY. 



-:jv uuiUf^Hir^Kr 



Largest and Most Complete Printing 

Establishment in the 

Southwest. 



CORRESPONDENCE INVITED. 



Address : 

Arkansas Democrat Company, 

Nos. 214 and 216 East Markham Street, Little Rock. 



SDUtfiern Plant 



and Seed Co., 



LITTLE ROCK, 
ARKANSAS. 



GRAPE VINES .... 

One or two years' plants. Concord, Ives, Worden, 
Delaware, N^iagara, Norton's Virginia, Moore's Early, 
Early Ohio, Herbemont, Hartford Prolific, Green 
Mountain, and all other leading varieties. 

BLACKBERRIES .... 

Early Harvest, Taylor, Warren, Etc. Price, 50 cents 
for 10, $2.00 per 100. 

PECANS .... 

Prices — one year old trees, 25 cents each, $2.00 for 
10, $12.00 per 100. These are grown from Extra 
Large Paper=Sheil Nuts. Do not buy large trees — 
one 3^ear old trees transplant easily, without failure. 

STRAWBERRIES .... 

Michel's, xA-rkansas Traveler, Charles Downing, Cres- 
cent, Hoffman, Bubach, Haverland, Gandy, Etc. 

SEEDS 

Teosinte, per oz., 20c; per lb., $2, by mail, prepaid. 
Millo Maize, (Dhoura),... " " 40c " " '' 

Kaffir Corn " " 40c " " " 

Jerusalem Corn " '' 40c *' " '' 

Carolina Upland Rice " " 40c " " " 

Vines and plants warranted true to name, and of the quality 
represented. No charge for packing, which is done in the best 
manner. We do not substitute unless specially authorized to do so. 

Prices on Grapevines and Strawberry plants on application. 

E. M. PHILLIPS, 

Manager. 



• • • 'JL^Hii/ • • • 

A. P. Swan Real Est ate Agency 

Has merited the confidence it is receiving from land owners, 
as well as those who are securing homes in the 

GRAND PRAIRIE REGION 

Of our State, through this Agency. This confidence and 
success has been attained by honest, straight-forward dealing 
and has secured to us the handling of many thousands of 
acres of the most desirable and best titled lands in this and 
adjoining counties ; and those wishing to invest or locate here 
can do no better than to call on us. Inquiries by mail will 
receive prompt attention. We can furnish you 

Prairie Land, Timber Land, or Town Property. 

Stuttgart and Arkansas River 
Railroad 

S. W. FORDYCE, Receiver. 

"THE HAY BELT LINE" 

Traverses the Famous and Beautiful 
GRAND PRAIRIE of Arkansas. 

Best Openings for Industrial, 
Agricultural, Fruit Growing and 
Live Stock Investments. 



^ # ^ ^ # 



SPECIAL TERMS AND 

ATTENTION GIVEN 

TO IMMIGRANTS. 



Come and see this grand Southern Prairie Country ! 
The country of clover, cowpeas, corn and creameries ! 

Addres^^^ STERLING S. BALL, 

Traveling Passenger Agent, 

STUTTGART, ARK. 




(jleason's Hotel, 

AMERICAN PLAN, 

$2 to $3.50 . . . 

EUROPEAN, . . . 

Rooms ^1 to $1.50. 

Fine Sample Rooms. Steam Heat. 

COR. SECOND AND LOUISIANA STS. 
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 



Buy Seeds of BURPEE 

Get the BEST and Save Money! 

BURPEE'S FARM ANNUAL— The Leading American seed catalogue 

A handsome new BOOK of 184 pages ; Beautiful Colored Plates. 

Tells all about the BEST SEEDS that Grow 1 Rare NOVELTIES for 1896, 

that can not be had elsewhere. Price 10 cts. (less than cost), but mailed FREE tO all 
who intend to purchase Seeds, Plants, or Bulbs. Write TO=DAY I 

W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., Philadelphia, Pa. 



THE GREAT STATE PAPER 



Arkansas Democrat 

Published Twice a Week. 

$1.00^-104 Papers--$1.00 

"Yotx Oan't :Beait it in 
Qti^litjr or I*r»ioe. 

.A.dcl>r^ssi« fox* &9^rx:Epl^sx 



UTTTr^H; I«OCK. 



TC^HE^ • • • 



O.K.WEPPFPT COLONY 

HAS FOR SxVLE several thousand acres of Garden and Fruit 
Lands, in tracts of 5, 10 and 20 acres, part of them im- 
proved ; at $5 to $25 per acre ; one-fifth cash, balance in 
1, 2, 3 and 4 years, with interest at 5 per cent per annum. 



OUR COLiOXY is located at the Grand Rapids of the Ouachita River, between the Iron 
Mountain and Hot Springs railroads, where there is a large water power, sufficient for several 
factories and electric dynamos for lights and street cars. When dam is completed we can send 
our fruits and other products to Hot Springs, 20 miles up the river by water, as well as by rail- 
road, and with dredging a few miles of the river below, we can ship by water and rail via New 
Orleans to Europe and elsewhere. 

OUR CLIMATE is healthful; being amongst the foothills and valleys of the Ozarks, 
we are well sheltered from blizzards and tornadoes. We have long growing seasons, and but 
short, mild winters to provide for. Have plenty of rain as well as sunshine, and numerous 
springs, brooks, branches and creeks of pure sparkling water, running swiftly down our 
vine-clad hills and green vales, to our bonnie river, Ouachita. 

OUR SOITj is good; plenty of decomposed lime, phosphate, sulphur, iron, silicia, 
alumina and potash rocks, mixed up by Mother Nature; and it matures in perfection all the 
fruits and other products mentioned in this book. 

We have an abundance of timber for buildings, fences, fuel and shade; for furniture, 
wagons and other factories. Plenty of sandstone, lime, slate and granite, with Brick Clay, 
Potter's Clay, Fire Clay, Kaolin, Feldspar, Graphite, Bauxite, Hem- 
atite, Limoilite, Maglietite and Lignite of best quality in abundance, for gas, 
fuel, smelting, etc. 

Each colonist to own and control his and her own farm and domicile, but can build near 
together and cooperate in schools, churches, lectures and entertainments; and in building 
creameries, canneries and other factories, and enjoy all the benefits of the city without its vices, 
and all the advantages of country life without its isolation. 

Enshrined by peace, 'mongst fruits and flowers, 
With those we love, spend happy hours. 

Have also, large and small tracts of railroad and other lands for sale, outside of above 
colony, Timbered Lands for lumbermen, Stock Ranches, Grain, Grass and Cotton Farms, im- 
proved and unimproved, at low prices and on easy terms. Titles perfect. 

Also for sale cheap, 2 steam sawmills, planing, grist 
mill, and cotton gin. For further information, address 

WM. KILPATRICK, Malvern, Ark. 



THE following Traveling and Passenger Agents of the Missouri Pacific Railway, 
and ''Iron Mountain Route," are constantly looking after the interests of the Line, 
and will call upon parties contemplating a trip, and will cheerfully furnish them lowest 
Rates of Fare, Land Pamphlets, Maps, Guides, etc. Or they may be addressed as follows: 

ATCHISON, KAN.— C. E. STYLES, Passenger and Ticket Agent. 
AUSTIN, TEX.-T. C. LEWIS, Traveling Passenger Agent. 

BOSTON. MASS.— LOUIS W. EWALD, New England Passenger Agent, 300 Washington St. 
CHATTANOOGA, TENN.— A. A. GALLAGHER, Southern Passenger Agent, 103 Read House. 
CHICAGO, ILL.— BISSELL WILSON, District Passenger Agent, 11 1 Adams St. 
CINCINNATI. OHIO.— N. R. WARICK, District Passenger Agent, 317 Vine St. 
DENVER, COL.— C. A. TRIPP, General Western Freight and Passenger Agent; E. E. HOFF- 
MAN, Traveling Passenger Agent, Cor. Seventeenth and Stout Sts. 
HOT SPRINGS. ARK.— R. M. SMITH, Ticket Agent. 

INDIANAPOLIS, IND.— COKE ALEXANDER, District Passenger Agent, 7 Jackson Place. 
JACKSON, MICH.— H. D. ARMSTRONG, Traveling Passenger agent. 
KANSAS CITY, MO.— J. H. LYON, Western Passenger Agent, 800 Main St.; E. S. JEWETT, 

Passenger and Ticket Agent, 800 Main St; BENTON QUICK, Passenger and Assistant 

Passenger Agent, 1032 Union Avenue. 
LEAVENWORTH. KAN.— J. N. JOERGER, Passenger and Ticket Agent. 
LINCOLN, NEB.— F. D. CORNELL, City Passenger and Ticket Agent; R. P. R. MILLAR, 

Freight and Ticket Agent. 
LITTLE ROCK, ARK.— AUGUST SUNDHOLM, Passenger and Ticket Agent. 
LOUISVILLE. KY.— R. T. G. MATTHEWS, Southern Traveling Agent, 304 West Main St. 
MEMPHIS. TENN.— H. D. WILSON, Passenger and Ticket Agent, 309 Main St.; I. E. 

REH LANDER, Traveling Passenger Agent, 309 Main St. 
NEW YORK CITY— W. E. HOYT, General Eastern Passenger Agent, 391 Broadway; J. P. 

McCANN, Traveling Passenger Agent, 391 Broadway. 
OMAHA, NEB.— J. O. PHILLIPPI, Assistant General Freight and Passenger Agent; THOS. 

F. GODFREY, Passenger and Ticket Agent, Northeast corner Thirteenth and Farnam 

Sts. ; W. C. BARNES, Traveling Passenger Agent, Northeast corner Thirteenth and 

Farnam Sts. 
PITTSBURG. PA.— S. H. THOMPSON, Central Passenger Agent, 11 19 Liberty St. 
PUEBLO, COL.— WM. HOGG, Commercial Freight and Ticket Agent. 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.— H. B. KOOSER, Commercial Freight and Passenger Agent, 21 

Morlan Block. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.— T. F. FITZGERALD, Pacific Coast Passenger Agent, I2i Cali- 
fornia St. 

ST. JOSEPH. MO.— F. P. WADE, Passenger and Ticket Agent. 

ST. LOUIS, MO.— B. H. PAYNE, Assistant General Passenger and Ticket Agent; H. F. 
BERKLEY, City Ticket Agent, Northwest corner Broadway and Olive Sts.; H. LIHOU, 
Ticket Agent, Union Station; M. GRIFFIN, City Passenger Agent, Northwest corner 
Broadway and Olive Sts.; W. H. MORTON, Passenger and Emigration Agent, Union 
Station; J. C. NICHOLAS, General Baggage Agent, Union Station. 

WICHITA, KAN.— E. E. BLECKLEY, Passenger and Ticket Agent, 114 North Main St. 



Land seekers arriving at the Union Station, St. Louis, should call immediately on Mr. W. H. 
MORTON, Passenger Agent, Room 402, Union Station, who will assist them in securing tickets, 
checking baggage, shippjing freight, and giving information in regard to lands, prices, terms, etc. 

C. G. WARNER. W. B. DODDRIDGE. H. C. TOWNSEND, 

Vice President. General Manager. Gen'l Passenger and Ticket Agt. 

ST. LOUIS, 7«^0. 



• • THE • • 



IpdiI Mountain I|ou(b 

WITH ITS LINES AND BRANCHES REACHES 

The Great Timber Districts, 

The Valuable Mineral Deposits, 

The Incomparable Fruit Lands, 



The Fine Grazing Territory, 

The Broad Corn and Cotton Fields, 
The Cheap Railway 

AND 

GOVERNIVLENT LANDS OF 




4 DAILY TRAINS 7^ 

KROM: ST. LOUIS. "^-T" 

Solid Trains from Kansas City via Wagoner Route. 

W. B. DODDRIDGE, H. C. TOWNSEND, 

General Manager. Gen'l Pass. & Tkt. Agt., St. Louis, Mo. 



.Al 




